Glossary · Document handover and classification
Manufacturer information
Also known as: digital manufacturer information, manufacturer documentation, manufacturer documents
German: Herstellerinformation
In plant engineering and document handover, manufacturer information is the object-related information that the manufacturer of a technical product supplies to its user, such as instructions, data sheets, drawings, parts lists, certificates, declarations and contract documents; VDI 2770 Blatt 1 calls the totality of this information provided in digital form digital manufacturer information, typically structured as documents.
- Information architecture
- Technical documentation
In one sentence
Manufacturer information is everything a manufacturer supplies with a product — instructions, data sheets, drawings, certificates — as VDI 2770 uses the term.
Example
With a heat exchanger, the operator receives the data sheet, the pressure equipment certificates, the drawings, the operating and maintenance instructions, the spare parts list and the delivery note — all of it manufacturer information.
How it applies
- The VDI 2770 sense: VDI 2770 Blatt 1 defines digital manufacturer information as the totality of object-specific information that the manufacturer provides to the user in digital form. It is relevant for different phases of the object's lifecycle — design, installation, commissioning, spare parts stocking, operation, cleaning, inspection, maintenance and repair — and some of it, such as declarations of conformity, certificates and reports, must exist by law.
- Scope of the term: Manufacturer information covers far more than instructions: the twelve VDI 2770 document categories range from identification and technical specifications to contract documents such as delivery notes and invoices.
- Operators: For the operator, manufacturer information is input to its own records — the lifecycle record of an asset, maintenance planning and the plant documentation. A standardized handover lets it be taken over without manual sorting.
- Content: VDI 2770 fixes the form in which manufacturer information is handed over, not its content. Which information must be supplied, and what it must say, follows from product legislation, contracts and content standards such as IEC/IEEE 82079-1.
Manufacturer information vs. information for use
Information for use is the part of the manufacturer information that supports the safe and correct use of the product — instructions for use, warnings, markings — and is the subject of legal requirements such as those of the Machinery Regulation. Manufacturer information is the wider set, including certificates, drawings, parts lists and commercial documents. Classifying a document as manufacturer information says nothing about whether it fulfills a legal information requirement.