Tech Pubs Done Right.
For Tech Pubs Authors
The Headache of Disconnected Systems
Things can get messy quickly without integrating your PLM system and authoring environment. Teams are stuck with double data entry, which not only consumes time but also opens the door to mistakes and outdated information. Data becomes trapped in silos—legacy specs like ATA iSpec 2200 don’t communicate well with S1000D, making it challenging to reference or reuse content. Moreover, supply chain issues are almost inevitable when your BOMs can’t sync across systems. Compliance becomes a juggling act, with scattered workflows complicating adherence to BREX validation and S1000D standards. All this chaos results in higher costs and slower product launches—not a recipe for success.
SOLUTION: Connecting Flatirons Knowledge Center for Manufacturers (KCM) with your PLM system is a game-changer. Say goodbye to tedious manual work—welcome fewer mistakes, less rework, and lower costs. Updates and validations happen automatically, allowing your publications to go out the door faster. You can effortlessly reuse data, illustrations, and procedures, saving a significant amount of time. Engineers and authors collaborate in a unified workspace with bi-directional access to the latest information, making teamwork seamless. Approvals and new product versions are streamlined, and you can manage both ATA iSpec 2200 and S1000D in one system. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
The Workload and Capacity Bottleneck
Writing high-quality S1000D and ATA iSpec 2200 content isn’t exactly easy. Tech Pubs teams juggle numerous specifications, formats, and quality checks. It’s challenging to track and manage documentation created by various subcontracting authors, not to mention the documents that must be produced in multiple languages. This can sometimes turn chaotic, leading to inefficiencies, decreased authoring productivity, and headaches. Managing complex technical content shouldn’t be this difficult.
SOLUTION: Flatirons KCM simplifies technical publications management by consolidating S1000D, ATA iSpec 2200, and legacy PDFs in one platform. Say goodbye to formatting hassles and tedious manual work. It streamlines authoring, editing, and publishing with tools like automated validation and robust search features, allowing teams to produce accurate, high-quality data more efficiently. Collaboration becomes smoother, updates happen faster, and everything remains consistent.
You can also outsource certain documentation and easily reintegrate it, and KCM supports multiple languages for publishing. Features such as data linking, applicability, and smart data reuse help reduce duplicate work and keep everything organized. Overall, KCM alleviates the stress of technical authoring and eliminates bottlenecks, ensuring your process runs smoothly.
For Technicians
System-Hopping: The Ultimate Productivity Killer
Jumping between systems with conflicting user interfaces and multiple logins, not to mention juggling data from various OEMs in countless formats, sounds like it could lead to a headache. Wouldn’t it be nice to have everything in one system, allowing you to view all the different types of technical content regardless of its format?
SOLUTION: Flatirons Pinpoint addresses the frustration of system hopping by providing a single platform to access all types of technical content from multiple OEMs, regardless of specification format (various ATA iSpec 2200 flavors and various S1000D series) or device. It consolidates data seamlessly across fleets, manuals, and specifications, simplifying navigation, searching, and troubleshooting without switching between incompatible systems or apps. Online access to technical content becomes effortless. This streamlined approach boosts technician productivity, reduces errors, and keeps everything organized in one place, allowing you to focus on completing tasks more quickly and efficiently.
Flatirons Pinpoint revolutionizes remote and disconnected work by automatically switching to offline mode, ensuring uninterrupted access to all your maintenance content on any device. You can access manuals, 3D diagrams, and troubleshooting guides without Wi-Fi, whether using a tablet, laptop, or desktop. This allows technicians to work efficiently anywhere, anytime, without losing critical information just because they’re in the field.
For OEMs
Stop the Sharing Struggle by Ditching the Distribution Drama
Sharing technical publications or updates with customers and partners involves navigating a complex process—manually uploading files, managing various distribution lists, and juggling access rights across disconnected systems. This often leads to outdated documents being circulated, inconsistent user experiences, and notable security risks. Managing who can see what turns into a full-time job, and complying with regulations or customer requirements becomes difficult when access cannot be tracked or controlled from a single location. Additionally, without single sign-on (SSO) or centralized authentication, users face too many passwords and inconsistent access, making collaboration awkward and inefficient.
SOLUTION: By integrating Flatirons with portals like Yocova and SailPoint, manufacturers can effortlessly distribute their technical content. This integration allows OEMs to publish and share technical content—whether it’s PDFs, standalone packages, or interactive online viewers—directly through the portal, effectively reaching the right users across multiple channels in real time. Manufacturers gain centralized control, enhanced security and compliance, improved collaboration, and scalable distribution. Customers and partners receive access to the latest manuals, bulletins, or data modules with real-time updates and a seamless user experience through SSO, making content access quick and frustration-free.
No More Flying Blind
Do you ever wonder if you’re keeping up with your customer promises, managing their feedback, and getting publications out on time? When systems and processes aren’t connected, it’s challenging to see where things stand or address any issues that arise. Understanding the progress made toward your goal is, at best, difficult. Inefficient workflows only slow everything down, so streamlining is vital if you want to work smarter and accomplish your tasks.
SOLUTION: Flatirons KCM’s change request and workflow capabilities address slow and clunky processes, especially when integrated with PLM systems. Gathering feedback from customers and users is essential for improving your technical publications, which is where Flatirons Pinpoint truly excels. Technicians can easily submit changes to publications, and those updates automatically enter the Flatirons workflow for quick review and action. Additionally, feedback from both technicians and OEM customers is incorporated into the process as well. With Flatirons, you’re no longer guessing—you know precisely what needs to be done and when.
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Take the First Step Now!
Manufacturers run more efficiently on Flatirons. Ready to reduce the complexity of managing technical content? Discover how Flatirons Manufacturer Edition helps OEMs streamline their tech pubs operations and deliver their technical content and updates to their customers effortlessly. Take the first step today, and contact us for a demo. You’ll wish you had switched sooner.
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