With the help of infolox, Tintometer creates technical documentation directly from Contentserv's PIM/MAM system. This saves time and effort in introducing, configuring, filling and operating a special editorial system for this type of publication.
Tintometer develops and manufactures innovative solutions for water and paint analysis. All relevant information on measurement principles, test procedures, influencing factors and instructions for use is summarised in method manuals to ensure correct application of the products. These manuals represent a centralised, comprehensive and structurally very sophisticated technical documentation system.
After Tintometer successfully implemented a multi-level, flexible data model for combining devices, measurement methods, reagents and accessories in Contentserv's PIM/MAM system with infolox, it made sense to go one step further: creating method manuals directly from the PIM/MAM system without using a separate content management system.
Technical documentation editing systems are database-driven systems in which text and image elements are stored and managed as modules. Once created, modules can be easily retrieved, updated and prepared for publication in any media using a user-friendly front end in the database. These are essentially the same functions that a PIM system offers.
So why not use PIM/MAM as an editorial system for technical documentation? This saves time, costs and effort for the introduction, configuration, filling, licensing and operation of another system.
The prerequisite for this was created with INFOLOX through conceptual modularisation at the building block level in the PIM/MAM system. An operating manual for a method consists of an introductory section on preparation, a description of the individual measurement and work steps, and a technical section with details on the measurement method.
A device- and method-neutral library was created to describe the work steps. Placeholder texts, images and InDesign Comet templates are defined here. For specific instructions for a device, the individual library elements are strung together in a second structure and enriched with specific values. The actual manual is then defined in a Contentserv view: the product information and work steps are organised for the individual methods.
With this concept, export to InDesign is implemented almost entirely automatically.
"We can now easily create the method manuals that are so important to our customers, with up-to-date data modules and quickly, directly from our PIM/MAM system – without having another IT system in-house. This saves us time and money and, thanks to infolox, significantly reduces the complexity of our processes!"
Matthias Ostermann, PIM Manager at Tintometer GmbH
