Glossary · Document handover and classification
VDI 2770 document category
Also known as: VDI 2770 document class, VDI 2770 classification, document category (VDI 2770)
German: Dokumentkategorie
In VDI 2770 Blatt 1, a document category is one of twelve fixed classes, arranged in four groups, to which a manufacturer document is assigned by its document type and intended purpose, so that operators can file and find documents along the typical activities in an object's lifecycle. Each category has an identifier such as 03-02 and a German and English name.
- Information architecture
- Standards
- Technical documentation
In one sentence
A VDI 2770 document category is one of twelve fixed classes, such as 03-02 Operation, by which operators file manufacturer documents automatically.
Example
The operating instructions of a dosing pump are classified as 03-02 Operation, its ATEX certificate as 02-04 Certificates and its spare parts list as 03-06 Spare parts.
How it applies
- The tree: VDI 2770 Blatt 1 has four groups — Identification, Technical characteristics, Activity-specific documents and Contract documents — with twelve categories in total. Groups 01 and 04 consist of one category each.
| ID | Group | German name (authoritative) | English name | Typical documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01-01 | Identification | Identifikation | Identification | Documents that identify the object, such as an electronic nameplate |
| 02-01 | Technical characteristics | Technische Spezifikation | Technical specification | Data sheets, strength calculations, requirement specifications, risk assessment |
| 02-02 | Technical characteristics | Zeichnungen, Pläne | Drawings, plans | Sectional and exploded drawings, 3D models, circuit diagrams |
| 02-03 | Technical characteristics | Bauteile | Components | Parts lists |
| 02-04 | Technical characteristics | Zeugnisse, Zertifikate, Bescheinigungen | Certificates | ATEX certificates, EU declarations of conformity, material certificates |
| 03-01 | Activity-specific documents | Montage, Demontage | Assembly, disassembly | Assembly and disassembly instructions, installation plans |
| 03-02 | Activity-specific documents | Bedienung | Operation | Instructions for use, commissioning instructions |
| 03-03 | Activity-specific documents | Allgemeine Sicherheit | General safety | General safety information, notes on protective devices |
| 03-04 | Activity-specific documents | Inspektion, Wartung, Prüfung | Inspection, maintenance | Inspection, maintenance and test plans and instructions, calibration instructions |
| 03-05 | Activity-specific documents | Instandsetzung | Repair | Repair instructions |
| 03-06 | Activity-specific documents | Ersatzteile | Spare parts | Spare parts lists, consumables |
| 04-01 | Contract documents | Vertragsunterlagen | Contract documents | Delivery notes, invoices, warranty terms |
- Names: The German names are the guideline's own; the German version of VDI 2770 is authoritative. The English names above are those used by the VDI 2770 reference implementation and, almost word for word, by the iiRDS Handover Documentation Domain that iiRDS/H uses. The AAS Handover Documentation submodel uses partly different English labels — "Assemblies" for 02-03, "Certificates, declarations" for 02-04, "Commissioning, de-commissioning" for 03-01 and "Inspection, maintenance, testing" for 03-04 — with the same identifiers.
- Assigning a category: Every document carries a classification according to VDI 2770 in its metadata (classification system, class identifier and class name); classes of other systems such as IEC 61355-1 can be added. In iiRDS/H every document has exactly one document category. Where a document seems to fit two categories — operating instructions with a long safety chapter — decide by its main content, which is how the iiRDS Handover Documentation Domain defines a document category.
- A common misreading: Group 01 is Identification and group 04 is Contract documents. Operating instructions are not a group of their own; they belong to 03-02 Operation within the activity-specific documents.
- System name: Implementations name the classification system differently: the VDI 2770 reference implementation uses "VDI2770:2018" and iiRDS has the classification type
iirds:VDI2770(label "VDI2770:2018 identifier"), while the AAS Handover Documentation submodel uses "VDI 2770 Blatt 1:2020". Receiving systems should map both to the same class list. - Safety-related content: The category says where a document is filed, not whether its content is complete. Safety information that belongs into the operating instructions stays there even if a separate 03-03 document exists.
Document category vs. iiRDS document type
In iiRDS, the document categories are instances of iirdsHov:DocumentCategory, a subclass of iiRDS InformationType. An iiRDS/H document needs both: a document type such as iirds:OperatingInstructions, which says what the document is, and a document category such as iirdsHov:Operation, which says where it is filed. A class of IEC 61355 can be recorded on top as an external classification.