Glossary · Safety information
Maintenance manual
Also known as: service manual
In technical documentation, a maintenance manual is a controlled set of instructions and information for inspection, servicing, repair and restoration activities on a machine or system, including the safety measures, qualifications, tools and intervals each task requires.
- Technical documentation
- Compliance
In one sentence
A maintenance manual gives controlled instructions for inspecting, servicing, repairing and restoring a machine, with the safety measures each task needs.
Example
The maintenance manual of a stamping press specifies the brake inspection interval, the lockout points, the required stopping-time measurement after brake work and the qualification of the technician allowed to do it.
Explained in context
Context cards connect this term with others to answer one question. Also in British English and German.
How it applies
- Machine safety: Maintenance is a phase with high risk: guards are open, safety functions are bypassed or muted, and stored energy is present. Each task needs its own safety measures, starting with energy isolation and lockout/tagout.
- Technical documentation: Write tasks as procedures with prerequisites, tools, qualifications and verification steps; DITA task topics fit this structure. Warnings belong in the step where the hazard arises, not only in a safety chapter.
- Safety functions: Include checks that restore and verify safety functions after the work, such as functional tests of interlocks and emergency stops.
- Evidence: Link safety-critical maintenance tasks and intervals to the assumptions in the risk assessment and safety calculations.
Maintenance manual vs. operating manual
The operating manual addresses operators and covers normal use. The maintenance manual addresses qualified maintenance staff and covers tasks outside normal production. Separate audiences justify separate documents, but shared content, such as warnings and technical data, should come from one source.