I have approached UL with the request at least for an on-line version, (which addresses the revision cost) and the answer was no, at least not yet. The company I worked for at the time didn't build or supply a computer, and the equipment didn't need one to run. Based on that their reasoning was that we could assure access to a computer terminal, nor an internet connection. The second reason took me a little thinking about because I always have a connection its seems strange that anyone wouldn't have it. But after a little reflection I could indeed think of a lot of instances where either people I know or folks that might use the equipment either didn't have a connection or it was physically located far from the equipment. Dick has a good list of other potential problems, but as an old friend would often say, "They are opportunities"!. Mind you he never said that when he had to find the solution to them Gary -----Original Message----- From: Dick Grobner [mailto:dick.grob...@medgraph.com] Sent: Friday, July 28, 2000 6:18 AM To: 'marti...@appliedbiosystems.com' Cc: IEEE EMC-PSTC E-Mail Forum (E-mail) Subject: RE: UL Acceptance of On-Line Manuals
We have played with the idea but have consistently talked ourselves out of it. Reasons have been: - the ability to read the manuals (one also needs to provide a copy of some sort of "reader software" such as Adobe) - Revision control is a concern along with the cost. - Our manuals are quite complex, you need the ability to quickly reference (back and forth) multiple sections within the manual at a given time. If you have ever tried this with a large on screen document it can be quite a slow process, thus annoying. - We do not supply the PC at all times with our device, some users in third world countries may not have the "top of the line" computing hardware that we are accustom to here in the US. This could cause yet another problem. - if you have mechanical drawings (typ in a service manual) based in say - AutoCAD you need to provide a viewer such as VoloVeiw. The same holds true for schematics. So - for now we have opted to stay with the "old fashion" paper hardcopy versions. Hope this provides some insight. Never approached UL on this one, but I would think if you have a revision control plan/scheme in place it should be no problem. Good Luck! -----Original Message----- From: marti...@appliedbiosystems.com [mailto:marti...@appliedbiosystems.com] Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2000 5:11 PM To: emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org Subject: UL Acceptance of On-Line Manuals We are planning to switch over to an on-line system for our User Manuals. Does anyone have any experience with using an on-line system? Does the user have the same access as with paper manuals? What are the downsides of such a system? Has anyone dealt with UL and the European Union on their acceptance of on-line manuals? All information is appreciated. Regards Joe Martin marti...@appliedbiosystems.com ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Jim Bacher: jim_bac...@mail.monarch.com Michael Garretson: pstc_ad...@garretson.org For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Jim Bacher: jim_bac...@mail.monarch.com Michael Garretson: pstc_ad...@garretson.org For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Jim Bacher: jim_bac...@mail.monarch.com Michael Garretson: pstc_ad...@garretson.org For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org
