Request

SafanDarley develops and manufactures press brakes and shears for a global market. SafanDarley operates from two locations and handles R&D, engineering, and manufacturing in-house. The product manuals were generated from Word documents using an Access database. This process was outdated and time-consuming. SafanDarley wanted to switch to a Content Component Management System (CCMS) in order to produce and translate the manuals efficiently and quickly.

Solution

Eluxis helped SafanDarley's documentalist and content managers to enter the improved and new manuals into the CCMS. Eluxis provides expertise on how to design and write good documentation and how to work with the chosen CCMS Author-It. As an outsider, Eluxis helps to determine which topics need to be explained to customers and installers and therefore need to be included in the manuals. SafanDarley remains responsible for the content. That is why it is so convenient that SafanDarley can quickly implement and publish updates itself. Eluxis involved the documentalist in the process and gradually let them do more and more themselves.

Outcome

SafanDarley now has the improved press brake manuals and the new manuals for new products such as the Mini Cell and I-Mate in CCMS Author-It. These manuals are clear and modular in design, well structured, and clearly written in accordance with best practices in the field of technical documentation. SafanDarley is now almost ready to say goodbye to the Access database and printed documents. This saves a lot of time and allows the manuals to be created and translated more efficiently.

In addition, the manuals provide better support for customers and users, enabling them to work effectively with the press brakes and ensuring their satisfaction. SafanDarley no longer needs to send its own engineers abroad to install press brakes, as dealers can now install them themselves using the installation manual.

"I enjoy designing complex products, but writing the accompanying documentation is a real chore. Working with Eluxis is great because I can talk passionately about my work, and Eluxis can then put it clearly into writing. I don’t have to write anything myself anymore, and a clear manual is ready on time!

As a result, I no longer have to travel abroad to install the new products because the installers/distributors can now do it themselves. So I also have more time to devote to designing."

Sander Roodink, Engineer, SafanDarley

"Eluxis has extensive experience and expertise in writing manuals in Author-It. They provided me with thorough training on the CCMS—starting with observing and entering content under supervision, and progressing to entering, writing, and publishing content on my own. I was given tight deadlines, which really forced me to take the initiative. Whenever I have questions, I receive quick and clear advice. The great thing about working with Eluxis is that they don’t keep all their knowledge to themselves, so your company doesn’t become dependent on a single party. I can now maintain the CCMS myself and don’t need to rely on Eluxis for updates. I wholeheartedly recommend that other manufacturing companies also enlist Eluxis’s help."