Overview
IEC TS 62666:2016 - "Guidelines for the inclusion of documentation aspects in product standards" - is an IEC Technical Specification that provides structured guidance for specifying information, documentation and graphical symbol requirements within IEC product and system standards. This second edition (2016) cancels and replaces the 2010 edition and constitutes a technical revision, including updated references to relevant standards and a new subclause on identification of equipment, basic and safety principles.
Key Topics
The specification addresses practical documentation topics that standards committees should include when developing product standards:
- Information requirements - what information about the product or system must be provided and communicated.
- Documentation requirements - expectations for the form, structure and management of documentation, including:
- Structuring of documentation (document sets, composite documents)
- Identification and classification of objects and documents
- Document kinds and their defined purposes (e.g., technical manuals, labels)
- Graphical symbols and references to applicable symbol standards
- Characteristic properties and data element types for unambiguous data description
- Tool-generated documentation - considerations for documents produced by CAx and other tools.
- Templates and examples - two informative annexes provide example clauses suitable for complex systems and for simple (consumer) products to help committees draft consistent requirements.
Applications
IEC TS 62666:2016 is a guideline intended to be used when writing product standards to ensure consistent and complete documentation requirements. Typical practical uses:
- Standards development - Product committee secretaries, PT/MT members and technical experts use it to insert appropriate documentation clauses into new or revised IEC product standards.
- Manufacturers and technical writers - to understand expected documentation deliverables (labelling, manuals, test records) required by product standards.
- Compliance and regulatory teams - to verify that specified documentation meets standardized structure and content expectations.
- System integrators and procurement - to ensure documentation provided by suppliers is consistent, identifiable and machine-readable where applicable.
Related Standards
IEC TS 62666 customizes and builds on guidance from IEC Guide 108 and references several IEC publications and terminologies used in documentation work, including standards dealing with document classification, data element types, identification, and graphical symbols (for example, IEC 62648 on graphical symbols and IEC terminology sources such as Electropedia).
By following IEC TS 62666:2016, standards authors can improve clarity, interoperability and usability of documentation specified in product standards - reducing ambiguity for manufacturers, users and conformity assessors.