1. Discussion

    As noted in Document Control Practices for Consumer Electronics and Appliance Companies in General, I maintain a library on the house server of manufacturer product documentation downloaded from manufacturer websites. I search for and download manufacturer product documentation when I acquire or procure new tools or equipment.

    I am almost never able to find the same revision of the document on the manufacturer website (herein "online revision") that was packaged with the tool or equipment (herein "packaged revision"). In general, online revisions are much earlier revisions than packaged revisions, and frequently the first revision. In most cases, the packaged revision is unavailable from the manufacturer.

    I identified two problems:

    • As a general rule, manufacturers do not make up-to-date product documentation available to consumers.
    • As a result, changes made by the manufacturer to packaged documentation are not available to consumers having access to online documentation only.

    Although I selected the NETGEAR GS105v3 as representative of the kinds of problems noted when attempting to replace the packaged revision of manufacturer product documentation with the online revision, this pattern is pervasive and NETGEAR is not unique.

  2. Analysis

    I received a Krups (herein1 "Krups") Fast-Touch Coffee Grinder (F203) (herein "F203") as a gift to replace an identical Krups coffee grinder which was making high-pitched metal-on-metal noise during use, indicating it was nearing the end of its service life. I downloaded the online revision of the Krups F203 instructions from the Krups website and compared them to the packaged revision. I noted problems very similar to those noted for the NETGEAR GS105v3:

    • Krups made some documentation available, but it is not up-to-date.
    • Errors and omissions in documentation and other artifacts of the editing process reveal poor document control practices, in general.

    Throughout the paragraphs which follow, errors in documentation are presented as if they are errors in the online revision. The online revision of manufacturer product documentation pre-dates the packaged revision.

    Refer to Section References for a list of objective evidence supporting the problems reported below.

    Problems include:

    1. Problem:

      The main figure on page 3 of the packaged revision and page 2 of the online revision is not captioned, for example, as "Figure 1", "1", or "fig. 1".

      As a result, the caption cannot be used later to refer to the main figure to identify the "lid (a)" in Section "Operation" of the packaged revision or "power button (b)" in Section "Operation" of the online revision.

    2. Problem:

      Figure 3 of the packaged revision is not captioned. Figures 1 and 2 are captioned as "fig. 1" and "fig. 2", respectively.

      Figures 1 through 3 of the online revision are captioned as "1", "2", and "3".

    3. Problem:

      Section "Operation" of the packaged revision refers to "fig.2" to indicate where the power button is located. The packaged revision includes no references to Figures 1 and 3, and no other references to Figure 2.

      Section "Operation" of the online revision includes references to Figure 1 (as "(1)"), Figure 2 (as "(2)"), and Figure 3 (as "(3)"). The online revision states: "To start grinding, press the power button (b) (3).", however Figure 2 of the online revision depicts the user pressing the power button, not Figure 3. Figure 3 depicts the user removing ground coffee from the grinder to an automatic coffee maker filter.

    4. Problem:

      Section "Save These Instructions" of the packaged revision states: "Any servicing other than cleaning and user maintenance should be performed by the nearest authorized KRUPS Service Center." and "To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not dismantle the appliance. Repair should be done by an authorized KRUPS Service Center only." (emphasis added).

      Section "Save These Instructions" of the online revision states: "Any servicing other than cleaning and user maintenance should be performed by the nearest authorized KRUPS Service Center (see guarantee of Performance)." and "To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not remove the base. No user servicable parts inside. Repair should be done by an authorized KRUPS Service Center only."2 (emphasis added).

      In both cases, Krups refers to "user maintenance" which it later states should not be attempted:

      • The packaged revision states: "do not dismantle the appliance".
      • The online revision states: "do not remove the base".
    5. Problem:

      The Krups F203 is alternately referred to as the "unit", "appliance", "grinder", "coffee-grinder", "Krups F203 grinder", "Krups Fast-touch (F203)", "Fast-Touch (model F203)", "Fast-Touch Grinder", and "Fast-Touch" throughout both packaged and online revisions.

      The use of "Fast-touch (F203)" is consistent in Sections "The Grind" in the packaged revision and "Grinding for Espresso/Cappuccino" in the online revision. From the similarity between these sections, it is obvious Section "Grinding for Espresso/Cappuccino" is the source of Section "The Grind".

    6. Problem:

      Section "Operation" of the packaged revision refers to "lid (a)" to indicate where the lid is located. The packaged revision includes no references to the power button (as "(b)") or motor base (as "(c)"), and no other references to the grinder lid (as "(a)").

      Section "Operation" of the online revision includes references to the "base unit (d)", "grinding chamber (c)", "lid (a)", and "power button (b)".

      In addition, packaged and online revisions alternately refer to:

      • "grinding chamber" / "milling bowl"
      • "power button" / "push button"
      • "motor base" / "base unit" / "base" / "grinder base"
    7. Problem:

      Section "Limited Warranty" of the packaged revision refers to "Krups ' product" several times to generally describe a product manufactured by Krups. However, one would not refer to "Ford's truck" to describe a truck manufactured by Ford Motor Company; one would say "Ford truck".

      This inconsistency is highlighted by the later use of "Krups Service Center" and "Krups Consumer Service" in lieu of "Krups' Service Center" and "Krups' Consumer Service", respectively, in the same section.

      Sections "Limited Warranty" and "Guarantee of Performance" of the online revision refer to "KRUPS product". Other sections refer to "KRUPS Service Center", "Krups coffee grinder", "Krups Fast-touch (F203)", "KRUPS F203", and "KRUPS appliance". "Krups' product" does not appear in the online revision.

    8. Problem:

      The packaged revision alternately states: "Children should be supervised to ensure that they do not play with the appliance." and "This appliance is not intended for use by children."

      This differs considerably from the online revision, which states: "Close supervision is necessary when any appliance is used by or near children."

    9. Problem:

      The online revision contains a large number of editorial errors which would have been detected by a competent editor or common word-processing software. For example:

      On page 6:

      • "counterhop" in lieu of "countertop"
      • "gringing" in lieu of "grinding"
      • "find grind" in lieu of "fine grind"
      • "cannister" in lieu of "canister"3
      • "recommandations" in lieu of "recommendations"
      • "Perculator" in lieu of "Percolator"

      On page 7:

      • "throught" in lieu of "through"
      • "carrefully" in lieu of "carefully"
      • "in th etop rack" in lieu of "in the top rack"
      • "with our charge" in lieu of "without charge"

      In general, these errors were corrected in the packaged revision. However, new errors were introduced and a recurring error suggests that a misspelled word may have been added to a custom dictionary, and therefore be undetectable by common word-processing software:

      • "carrefully" in lieu of "carefully"
      • "attachements" in lieu of "attachments"

      In addition, Section "Limited Warranty" of the packaged revision states: "The warranties set forth herein are exclusive and no other warranties...are made by Krups or are authorized to be made wth respect to the product."

  3. Results
    1. Significant deficiencies

      All of the problems noted are evidence of deficient document control practices in general, which is a severe problem. For example:

      1. Failure to maintain concurrent up-to-date revisions of manufacturer product documentation for different versions of the product is a common problem. The problem is exacerbated when the manufacturer does not update the online revision in accordance with the packaged revision when it updates the packaged revision. In this specific example, the manufacturer does not maintain the most up-to-date revision of the documentation. See Problems A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I.
      2. Based on the results of this review, in particular the consistency of changes in content such as use of captions for Figures and the "voice" of manufacturer product documentation, the author considers it likely the packaged revision and online revision are based on the same source material. However, errors and omissions were nonetheless introduced into the packaged revision that were not present in the online revision. See Problems G and I.
      3. Several changes in manufacturer product documentation represent a disturbing shift in what can only be referred to as "weaselese". For example:
        • The online revision clearly states: "No user servicable parts inside." However, the packaged revision deletes this statement in favor of one which warns the user not to remove the base to "reduce the risk of fire or electric shock", a warning that is practical whenever working with a consumer appliance, but which is otherwise meaningless. The assertion that there are no user servicable parts inside was deleted, suggesting that perhaps there are user servicable parts inside and that it is unnecessary to pay Krups to replace the brushes on the electric motor in the grinder base, one of the most common and inexpensive repairs when dealing with consumer appliances which use high-torque electric motors, and which significantly prolongs the useful life of such an appliance. See Problem D.
        • The online revision recognizes the possibility that the Krups F203 may be used by children, however inadvisable that may be. However, the packaged revision clearly states: "This appliance is not intended for use by children." Again, this is the plain statement of a manufacturer attempting to shield itself from liability by stating that use by children is not an intended use of the Krups F203. See Problem H.
  4. Conclusions
    1. An integrated document control solution is necessary

      See Document Control Practices for Consumer Electronics and Appliance Companies in General.

    2. The author was unable to determine if Krups is ISO 9001 or other QMS certified

      Following my review of the Greenlee GT-12, I decided to determine the ISO 9001 or other QMS certification status for manufacturers of products previously reviewed for comparison.

      Neither the online nor packaged revision of manufacturer product documentation for the Krups F203 refers to ISO 9001 or other QMS standard.

      Groupe SEB stated: "We have listed the certifications that our European plants’ suppliers have obtained in materials directly used in production, and encouraged the main ones to achieve ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification." (emphasis in original)4. However, this statement appears to refer to Groupe SEB's suppliers, not Groupe SEB itself.

      Groupe SEB also stated: "Respect for the environment is a priority, but it must not be achieved by sacrificing quality. Groupe SEB has developed a Quality Management System (QMS) that describes the steps to be taken at every level to guarantee the quality of the products sold and the associated services. QMS involves all Groupe SEB’s business units, processes and sites worldwide. Each business unit, site, position and employee is responsible for the quality of work and for the respect of the rules of the Quality Assurance documents." However, Groupe SEB does not refer to the QMS standard, if any, implemented by Groupe SEB.

      The author was unable to determine if either Groupe SEB or Krups, as a Groupe SEB brand, was ISO 9001 or other QMS certified.

      Nevertheless, the author asserts Krups should provide appropriate and adequate documentation for its products as a service to its customers and that document control is a necessary function of any QMS implementation.


References.

Groupe SEB, F203 - Coffee Grinders - Krups USA -,
http://www.krupsusa.com/All+Products/Coffee+Grinders/Products/F203/F203.htm (screen capture, dated January 23, 2011)
Groupe SEB, ResultsManuals - Instructions - Krups USA -,
http://www.krupsusa.com/Consumer+Services/Product+Support/Results/Manuals/ResultManuals.htm?SelectedService=Manuals&SelectedGuIDService={4935E645-77BE-42E9-8C03-68DFC870C982}&SelectedProdRef=F203 (screen capture, dated January 23, 2011)
Groupe SEB, Untitled Document (Krups Fast-Touch Coffee Grinder (Model F203) Instructions), Document Number 2550425/02, no revision, no date
Groupe SEB, Krups Fast Touch Grinder F203 Instructions, Document Number 0827 025-A, Revision 1.3, dated August 17, 2004 (file FASTTOUCHGRINDERF203_NAm.pdf, last accessed January 23, 2011)

Endnotes.

Krups is a Groupe SEB brand. Rather than refer to the manufacturer by name as "Groupe SEB", the manufacturer is referred to herein as "Krups". Also, the title case used by the packaged revision is used herein in lieu of the upper case "KRUPS" used by the online revision.
"To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not remove the base." is an instruction which makes no sense. The motor base cannot be removed from itself.
The author notes "cannister" is an alternate, but less popular, spelling of "canister". This example is included because in the packaged revision the spelling of "cannister" was corrected as "canister".
See Groupe SEB - Our commitments (last accessed February 2, 2011).

Last updated: Wednesday, 2 February, 2011

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