Technical Documentation

What is technical documentation?

High-quality technical documentation is essential to ensure safe rail vehicle operation. Documentation is an essential part of all phases throughout the product life cycle, from design and detailed development to operation and maintenance. At the interface between manufacturer and operator, a variety of needs imposed by differing standards and project-related requirements must be managed. In most circumstances, product-related information and its documentation underlie normative and judicial requirements. Technical documentation should be safety-relevant, informative and user-specific. Third party documentation experts can support manufacturers and other providers develop the highest quality documentation.

Why is it important to follow high-quality technical documentation standards?

There are multiple benefits to preparing a high-quality technical documentation:

• Comply with all regulations regarding technical documentation

• Support a successfully operating sales department, a smooth approval process, undisturbed operation and long-lasting customer relationships

• Transfer your know-how into words and pictures so that the spare parts catalogue as well as maintenance and operating instructions thoroughly correspond to the high quality of your products

• Use modern tools for structured technical communication with easy accessible information

TÜV SÜD is your expert partner for technical documentation

TÜV SÜD has nearly half a century of experience in the rail sector, with extensive editorial and technological expertise in the field of technical documentation. Our highly-skilled editorial teams have helped global manufacturers to create comprehensive, fact- and sense-checked technical documentation right from the development stage of the vehicle or product. The technical editors work with state of the art equipment with all the necessary editing and graphic design tools.

Our experts are preparing safety-relevant instructive and informative documentation for user-specific instructions or complete vehicles in conformity with regulations. The documentation they produce is structured and straightforward to navigate, with easy-to-find information. Thereby, your know-how is transferred into thorough documents which correspond to the high quality of your products.

TÜV SÜD’s technical documentation services for the rail industry

We offer the following technical documentation services for tram, light rail, metro, motor train set or railway locomotives as well as vehicle component:

• Drawing up drivers’ manuals and operating instructions based on clients’ control technology and operating concepts
• Processing of maintenance specifications, component documentation and design drawings into structured maintenance documentation or work instructions
• Creation of technical documentation in compliance with relevant industry standards (e.g. Ril 900.0503, Ril 900.0504) as well as EU-directives and documentation standards (e.g. IEC 82079-1, EC machinery directive 2006/42/EG)
• Customer information check (DocLab) according to instructive safety, compliance with standards and potential for optimisation to reduce the product liability risk
• Drawing up spare parts catalogues in a hierarchical tree structure and with interactive elements, by using a special spare parts catalogue software
• Processing 2D and 3D data and photographs
• Visualising work sequences (e.g. concerning operating and maintenance processes) by means of computer animation
• Carrying out projects in several languages and coordinating translation work
• Optimising your document’s layout with consistent and unified formatting