Glossary · Document handover and classification
VDI 2770 vs. iiRDS
Also known as: iiRDS vs. VDI 2770, VDI 2770 and iiRDS
The distinction between VDI 2770 and iiRDS, two standards for delivering manufacturer information in machine-readable form: VDI 2770 hands over whole documents in fixed document categories with XML metadata so that operators can file them automatically, while iiRDS delivers content units of any size with RDF metadata so that portals, service apps and assistants can select the information a user needs.
- Information architecture
- Standards
- Technical documentation
In one sentence
VDI 2770 hands over whole classified documents for filing; iiRDS delivers content units with RDF metadata for intelligent use. They complement each other.
Example
A machine builder hands over a VDI 2770 documentation container for the operator's document management system and, from the same CCMS, an iiRDS package whose topics feed the service technicians' tablet app.
How it applies
| Aspect | VDI 2770 | iiRDS |
|---|---|---|
| Published by | VDI (Association of German Engineers): guideline VDI 2770 Blatt 1, April 2020 | iiRDS Consortium at tekom: specification version 1.3, November 2025, under CC BY-ND 4.0 |
| Focus | Handover of manufacturer documentation so that operators can file and retrieve it in their IT systems | Request and delivery of user assistance content so that systems can select the information for a use situation |
| Unit | Document, with document versions | Information unit of any size: package, document, topic or fragment |
| Package | Nested ZIP containers: one document container per document, one documentation container per object with a main document | One ZIP archive with content folders and a META-INF folder for the metadata |
| Metadata format | One XML file per document (VDI2770_Metadata.xml), information model based on IEC 82045-2 |
RDF vocabulary in metadata.rdf (RDF/XML); JSON-LD optional, mandatory for iiRDS/H |
| Classification | Twelve fixed document categories | Information types, information subjects, lifecycle phases, audiences, product metadata, domain extensions and docking points for company vocabulary |
| File formats | At least one PDF/A file per document; native files optional | Unrestricted iiRDS: any format; iiRDS/A: iiRDS XHTML5, PDF/A-3 and listed media formats; iiRDS/H: PDF/A-2 or PDF/A-3 per document |
| Granularity | Whole documents | From whole documents down to fragments addressed by selectors |
| Typical producers and users | Manufacturers and operators in plant engineering and the process industry; document management, asset management and maintenance systems | Component content management systems and other iiRDS Generators; content delivery portals, service apps and assistants as iiRDS Consumers |
| Effort | Achievable from existing PDF documentation plus metadata | Pays off most with modular, consistently tagged content; existing PDFs can join as documents |
How they work together
- iiRDS/H: The restricted variant iiRDS/H was built for the handover of documentation for a specific product. It allows only documents and packages as information units, requires a PDF/A rendition for every document, a product identity with the manufacturer, and one document category from the iiRDS Handover Documentation Domain, whose twelve categories correspond by name to those of VDI 2770. Its mandatory content list
index.htmlis what VDI 2770 calls the main document. - Shared files: The root folder of an iiRDS container may hold additional files needed for interoperability with other standards such as VDI 2770, which iiRDS Consumers ignore unless the metadata reference them; unrestricted iiRDS allows nested packages to be compatible with VDI 2770.
- Classification identifiers: An iiRDS ExternalClassification with the classification type
iirds:VDI2770records a VDI 2770 class identifier, such as 03-02, on any iiRDS document. - Asset Administration Shell: The AAS submodel Handover Documentation (IDTA 02004) is based on the metadata and categories of VDI 2770. The IDTA submodel Intelligent Information for Use (IDTA 02063) details the activity-specific documents (03-01 to 03-06) as topics with iiRDS metadata.
Which question each answers
The two answer different questions: VDI 2770 how an operator receives and files the documentation of an object, iiRDS how content reaches the right person in the right context. Many manufacturers need both, ideally generated from the same source. Neither makes documentation compliant with the Machinery Regulation or any other law: both govern packaging and metadata, not whether the content of the instructions for use is correct and complete.