IEC/IEEE 82079-1 provides principles and general requirements for information for the use of products. Information for use is necessary for the safe use of a product, helpful for the efficient and effective use of a product and often necessary to fulfil market, legal, and regulatory obligations. Products include, for example, machinery, household appliances, medical devices, industrial plants, cars, office software, software for operation and automatic control of systems and technical services.
Information for the use of products applies to phases of the product life cycle such as transport, assembly, installation, commissioning, operation, monitoring, troubleshooting, maintenance, repair, decommissioning, and disposal, and the appropriate tasks performed by skilled and unskilled persons.
IEC/IEEE 82079-1 applies to information for use whether provided as electronic or printed information products, for example:
— service information for machinery, provided as a PDF file for web download for trained service technicians,
— information for the operation of software, provided electronically with the software as an online help,
— troubleshooting information for an operator, on a machine's on-screen display,
— functional description of a medical device on a website,
— information for assembly, printed and provided in the packaging of a piece of furniture for consumers,
— printed information for the maintenance of an automatic coffee machine,
— installation planning information for a safety sensor, downloadable from a website for mechanical engineers,
— product tutorial as a web-based training aid,
— materials for product on-site training,
— label for transportation personnel, printed on the packaging of a heavy containment,
The text of IEC/IEEE 82079-1:2019 has been approved in Europe as EN IEC/IEEE 82079-1:2020 without any changes.
