Why Good Documentation?
 

Technical Manuals

In today's litigation-crazy society, if you are supplying any product to anyone else, there is always the possibility of being sued. While proper documentation does not guarantee there will be no litigation, and does not guarantee you will win if there is, you stand a much better chance if you supply good documentation with the product or system. Proper use of Warnings and Cautions throughout the manual helps make your product safer to use. Proper layout and organization, clear writing, and useful illustrations help insure the documentation will get read instead of sitting on a shelf.

Good documentation can make the difference between high customer satisfaction and low customer satisfaction. If your documentation makes it easier for your customer to set up and maintain your equipment, it will be more productive for the client, which yields greater satisfaction. In a competitive marketplace, high customer satisfaction helps create repeat sales. Which machine would you specify the next time around, the machine that is running well for you or the one that has high downtime problems? Good documentation with the first unit will help bring in repeat sales later.

  Documentation is obviously an indirect cost which increases overhead. However, customer service is also an indirect cost. The cost of good documentation is offset by savings in customer service costs. Unfortunately, this trade-off is easy to recognize but difficult to measure.

  If your equipment manuals include good parts drawings, it is much easier for your customers to order the correct replacement parts. Confusion, incorrect orders, and sales personnel' time involvement are reduced which helps increase customer satisfaction and lower your real costs.
 
 

Training Programs

Many companies are finding that they can increase their sales by selling process training programs to go along with their equipment sales. An effective, well-designed training program can improve your customer's productivity and help make their ties to you stronger while increasing your company's profits.

  No matter what your product or process, properly designed in-house training programs can help improve your employee's productivity and quality. This investment in your own employees will help decrease your production costs.

Why use our services?

We have successfully worked with several companies which have in-house documentation staffs helping them during peak demand times or to meet a tight deadline. If your company has such a staff, we will be pleased to do the same for you. If you do not have such a staff, or if your staff consists of the same people trying to engineer, produce, sell, and service your products, consider the following:

The real cost to use your Engineering, Service, or Marketing staffs includes not only their salaries and fringe benefits, but also the cost of their primary work that is not getting done while they are trying to write documentation.

It will take your Engineering, Service, or Marketing staffs much longer to produce documentation than our time. We rarely get interrupted because of a production problem or because a salesman calls in with a question. Every interruption also means time lost getting your mind back into where you were. This can cause lack of continuity as well as additional loss of time.

We deliver on time! We do what is necessary to meet deadlines. A six-month project does not stretch to twelve (although we cannot control your review time).

We agree on the scope of the work and give you a firm contract price before we begin. There are no surprises.

Because of our technical background and the way we are able to work, we take up much less of your personnel's time than other technical writers require. We are degreed professionals who understand "Engineeringeez" and have the experience to make your documentation happen without constant interaction.

We do not work at your plant. We do not cost you any space or overhead. (Although we might cost you some postage and telephone charges.)

We use the latest hardware and software to maintain the highest quality output. Your final product has that professional printed appearance, even if you choose to make photo copies for distribution. Since everything is done electronically, updates and revisions are easy and reasonably inexpensive.

Although we have preferences and make recommendations, we do not just have one way of doing things. We will work with you to meet your requirements.

Your Engineers write from knowledge, which means they may be so familiar with the product they do not include all the information your customers need. We need to learn your equipment and, therefore, know what your customers need to learn. We know the questions to ask. (Besides, your Engineers do not really want to be writing these documents anyway. Go ahead, ask them!)