Council Resolution of 17 December 1998 on operating instructions for technical consumer goods
Date: 1998-12-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: consumer goods, consumer information, packaging, technology

31.12.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C  411/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL  RESOLUTION

of  17  December  1998

on  operating  instructions  for  technical  consumer  goods

(98/C  411/01)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Council  resolution  of  5  April  1993
on  the 
interest  of  the
consumer(cid:216)(˛),

labelling  of  products 

in  the 

(1)(cid:217)Whereas  promoting  the  interests  of  consumers  and
level  of  consumer  protection
inter  alia,  protecting  their  health  and

ensuring  a  high 
involves, 
safety;

(2)(cid:217)Whereas  consumers  are  entitled  to  be  provided  with
the  information  on  safety  issues  which  will  enable
them  to  assess  the  risks  inherent  in  a  product  and  to
take  precautions  against  those  risks;

(3)(cid:217)Whereas 

interests
the  protection  of  economic 
requires  that  consumers  of  technical  goods  have
access  to  adequate  user 
information  to  ensure
proper  and  complete  use  of  the  product;

(4)(cid:217)Whereas 

pertinent 

inadequate  operating 

instructions  may
affect  the  presentation  of  products  and  may  be  a
factor  to  be  taken  into  account  together  with  all
considering
other 
circumstances 
this
in 
whether  goods  are  defective;  whereas 
context,  experience  gained  from  Council  Directive
85/374/EEC  of  25  July  1985  on  the  approximation
of 
administrative
provisions  of  the  Member  States  concerning  liability
into
for  defective  products(cid:216)(ˇ)  should  be  taken 
account;

regulations 

laws, 

and 

the 

in 

(˛)(cid:217)OJ  C  110,  20.4.1993,  p.  1.
(ˇ)(cid:217)OJ  L  210,  7.8.1985,  p.  29.

by 

technical 

triggered 

(5)(cid:217)Whereas,  in  the  light  of  the  growing  variety  of
items  available  on  the  market  and  the  frequent
innovations 
progress,
operating  instructions  for  technical  consumer  goods
are  often  perceived  by  consumers  as  inadequate,
both  because  they  are  unclear  and  present  language
difficulties,  owing  to  faulty  translations  or  to  the
use  of  terms  which  are  too  complex,  and  because
they  lack  structure  and  have  inadequate  content;
whereas  the  use  of  the  appropriate  language  is
in(cid:220)
crucial 
structions;

clear,  user(cid:220)friendly  operating 

for 

(6)(cid:217)Whereas  binding  provisions  of  Community 

law
address  the  problem  of  operating  instructions  in
areas  in  which  the  protection  of  human  health  and
safety 
notably
particularly 
medicines,  machinery,  toys,  low  voltage  equipment,
gas  appliances  and  protective  equipment,  in  order
to  ensure  compliance  with  the  relevant  essential
requirements;

relevant, 

appears 

(7)(cid:217)Whereas  no  Community  legislation  addresses  the
for

specific  aspects  of  operating 
technical  consumer  goods  in  general;

instructions 

of 

(8)(cid:217)Whereas  in  a  market  economy  the  general  need  for
appropriate  operating  instructions  is  in  principle  to
taking
be  met  by  producers  and  distributors, 
account 
and
requirements 
demand(cid:220)side 
promoting  implementation  of  best  practice  through
dialogue  and  cooperation  with  consumer  organi(cid:220)
sations;  whereas  consumers  may  benefit  from  the
development  of  suitable  methods  of  determining  the
quality  of  operating  instructions  before  purchase;

C  411/2

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31.12.98

(9)(cid:217)Whereas 

the  provision  of  accessible  operating
instructions  is  closely  associated  with  the  "Design
for  all’  approach,  which  aims  at  having  mainstream
products  and  services  designed  to  be  usable  by
everyone,  including  the  elderly  and  the  disabled,
and  is  at  the  core  of  the  current  terms  of  reference
of  the  European  Information  and  Communication
Technologies  Standards  Bodies  on  "Standards  for
disabled  and  elderly  people’(cid:216)(˛);  whereas  it  is  also
one  of  the  activities  being  undertaken  by  the  stan(cid:220)
dardisation  bodies  CEN,  Cenelec  and  ETSI  on
behalf  of  the  Commission  departments  responsible
for  studies  and  programmes  relating  to  consumer
in  the  field  of  telecommunications
requirements 
technologies;  whereas  user(cid:220)friendly  aspects  and  the
total  lifespan  of  a  product,  from  production  to
recycling,  should  also  be  taken  into  account;

(10)(cid:217)Whereas  general(cid:216)(ˇ)  and  specific(cid:216)(—)  standards  for
operating  instructions  are  available  at  international
level  and,  in  some  instances,  at  national  level;

(11)(cid:217)Whereas  a  number  of  mandates 

relating 

through 

to
particular  consumer  concerns  which  need  to  be
addressed 
standardisation  have  been
completed  or  are  in  progress,  especially  in  the  area
of  injury  prevention,  on  the  basis  of  framework
terms  of  reference  agreed  by  the  Commission  in
1995;

(12)(cid:217)Whereas  there  is  scope  for  improving  the  structure,
content  and  usability  of  operating  instructions  for

(˛)(cid:217)Sogits  (Senior  officials  group  on  information  technology)

No  1032.

(ˇ)(cid:217)At  international  level,  see  ISO/IEC  guide  No  37,  1995;  at

national  level,  see,  for  example,  DIN  V  8418.

(—)(cid:217)Child  safety  and  standards  -  general  guidelines;  ref.  No

ISO/IEC  guide  50,  1987,  first  edition  15  April.

technical  consumer  goods 
in  order  to  facilitate
optimum  use  by  the  consumer  while  guaranteeing  a
high  level  of  safety;

NOTES  that,  with  a  view  to  helping  identify  the  best
possible  methods  and  practices,  the  Commission  intends
to  circulate  to  the  Member  States  the  findings  of  a
survey  conducted  among  national  administrations  in  the
European  Union  and  the  EFTA  countries  and  the  final
report  of  a  specialised  study  on  operating  instructions
carried  out  by  the  Austrian  authorities;

the 

the  Commission 
for 
instructions 

to  address 
issue  of
INVITES 
technical  consumer  goods
operating 
within  the  scope  of  standardisation  activities  after  due
consideration  of  the  cost(cid:220)effectiveness  of  such  activities
and  to  give  due  attention  to  this  issue  in  all  relevant
incorporating  consumer
areas,  particularly  as  regards 
needs  and  furthering  consumer  representation  within  the
standardisation  process;

INVITES  the  Member  States  and  economic  operators:

- to  pursue  the  objective  of  making 

information
available  to  consumers,  enabling  them  to  make  safe,
easy,  proper  and  complete  use  of  technical  goods,
and  to  take  the  fullest  possible  account,  where
appropriate  and 
in  compliance  with  the  Treaty
establishing  the  European  Community,  of  the  indi(cid:220)
cations  contained  in  the  Annex  to  this  resolution
for  activities  in  this  field,

- to  consider, 

for  example, 

the  possibility  of
voluntary  agreements  between  manufacturers  and
consumer  associations  on  the  design  and  content  of
operating 
labelling  and
award  schemes  designed  to  foster  the  introduction
of 
consumer(cid:220)friendly  operating
instructions.

instructions  and  product 

state(cid:220)of(cid:220)the(cid:220)art, 

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ANNEX

INDICATIONS  FOR  GOOD  OPERATING  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  TECHNICAL  CONSUMER
GOODS (˛)

Indications  as  enumerated  under  the  different  chapters  below  are  to  be  considered  as  non(cid:220)exhaustive  and
of  an  advisory  nature:

1. Development  of  instructions  for  use

(a)(cid:217)Guidelines,  standards,  laws  etc.  concerning  operating  instructions  are  taken  into  account.

(b) In  order  to  ensure  that  information  supplied  with  products  is  of  practical  use,  usability  tests  are
carried  out:  in  a  usability  test,  the  appliance,  a  list  of  the  tasks  to  be  performed  with  it  and  the  draft
operating  instructions  are  given  to  a  suitable  group  of  consumers  who  are  then  observed  performing
the  tasks;  observations  are  reported  on  standardised  record  sheets.

(c) The  content  is  structured  on  the  basis  of  typical  everyday  user  actions:  the  content  structure  of  a
manual  is  based  on  the  tasks  which  will  have  to  be  performed  by  product  users  (principle  of  task
orientation).

(d) A  user  manual  provides  only  information  which  is  not  self(cid:220)evident  from  the  product  itself  (self(cid:220)
explanatory  capacity)  or  from  the  user’s  knowledge  and  experience  or  from  the  characteristics  of  the
task  to  be  performed  (principle  of  supplying  the  necessary  missing  information).

2. Content

Operating  instructions  are  set  out  in  a  logical  sequence  reflecting  safe  and  practical  use.

Instructions  on  safety,  cautions  and  warnings,  instructions  on  installation  and,  finally,  instructions  on
use  are  clearly  separated  from  each  other.

Typical  components  of  such  operating  instructions  are:

-(cid:217)list  of  product  versions  covered  by  the  manual,  including  their  distinguishing  features,

-(cid:217)table  of  contents  (for  lengthy  instructions),

-(cid:217)short  description  of  the  tasks  that  the  product  can  perform,

-(cid:217)activity(cid:220)oriented  information  for  each  task,  including  safety  instructions  and  cautions,  such  as  instal(cid:220)
lation  and  start(cid:220)up  tips  (task  1,  task  2,  etc.),  any  general  information  on  safe  handling  not  already
included  in  the  tasks,  maintenance  and  care,  and  troubleshooting  sections,

-(cid:217)technical  data,

-(cid:217)customer  service  addresses  and  hotlines,

-(cid:217)index  (for  products  that  perform  several  tasks  or  for  lengthy  instructions),

-(cid:217)detachable  quick  reference  instructions  (for  products  that  perform  several  tasks  or  tasks  consisting  of

several  separate  steps),

-(cid:217)list  of  typical  operating  errors,  their  causes  and  possible  solutions,

-(cid:217)information  concerning  the  user(cid:220)friendliness  of  the  product  and  how  it  may  be  recycled,

-(cid:217)information  on  the  availability  of  the  instructions  on  media  other  than  printed  paper,  such  as

videotape,  CD(cid:220)ROM,  worldwide  website,  etc.

3. Separate  operating  instructions  for  different  models  of  the  same  product

Operating  instructions  sometimes  include  information  about  different  models  or  versions  of  the  same
product.  It  is  advisable  to  have  separate  instructions  for  each  individual  model,  particularly  when
confusion  could  constitute  a  safety  hazard.

(˛)(cid:217)Such  as  "white’  goods  (i.e.  kitchen  and  other  household  appliances  usually  covered  with  white  enamel),  do(cid:220)it(cid:220)yourself
appliances,  electric  and  electronic  goods  for  home  and  portable  entertainment,  and  telecommunication  terminal
equipment.

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31.12.98

However,  covering  several  products  in  a  single  manual  may  be  acceptable  when  differences  between
product  versions  do  not  result  in  differences  between  activity  steps  (for  example,  when  a  fax  machine
has  additional  features  on  some  models  but  the  basic  operations  for  sending  a  fax  remain  the  same).

4. Safety  instructions  and  cautions

Instructions,  cautions  and  warnings  in  matters  of  safety  are  prominently  displayed  at  the  beginning  of
the  operating  instructions  and  use  the  pictograms  which  appear  on  the  product  itself.  These  instructions,
cautions  and  warnings  are  repeated,  if  necessary,  at  the  relevant  points.

Besides,  instructing  users  in  the  safe  handling  of  the  product  is  best  achieved  by  linking  clearly  marked
safety  instructions  and  cautions  to  the  sequence  of  steps  in  normal  use.

Typical  operating  errors  are  set  out  in  the  sequence  in  which  they  may  occur.

5. Language  of  manuals

Consumers  have  easy  access  to  operating  instructions  at  least  in  their  own  official  Community  language,
in  such  a  way  that  they  are  legible  and  easy  for  the  consumer  to  understand.

For  the  sake  of  clarity  and  user(cid:220)friendliness,  language  versions  are  set  out  separately  from  one  another.

Translations  are  based  on  the  original  language  only  and  take  into  account  the  distinctive  cultural
characteristics  of  the  area  where  the  relevant  language  is  used;  this  requires  that  translations  are  done
by  suitably  trained  experts  who  share  the  language  of  the  consumers  that  the  product  is  aimed  at,  and
that,  ideally,  they  are  tested  on  consumers  for  comprehension.

6. Communication  of  information

The  communication  of  information  ideally  meets  the  following  requirements:

-(cid:217)it  is  sufficiently  clear  and  precise,

-(cid:217)it  is  correct  in  spelling  and  grammar,

-(cid:217)it  uses  comprehensible  words,

-(cid:217)it  uses  active  verb  forms  instead  of  passive  forms  wherever  possible,

-(cid:217)it  avoids  unnecessary  specialist  terms,

-(cid:217)it  uses  everyday  expressions,

-(cid:217)it  is  consistent  in  the  use  of  words  (i.e.  the  same  term  should  be  used  throughout  to  refer  to  the

same  object  or  action),

-(cid:217)it  uses  typefaces  which  avoid  any  confusion  between  lower  case,  upper  case  and  figures,

-(cid:217)it  explains  abbreviations  and  accompanies  them  with  clear  text,

-(cid:217)it  ensures  that  any  illustrations  used  correspond  exactly  to  what  the  consumer  sees,  depict  only  the

necessary  information  and  represent  only  one  new  item  of  information  per  illustration,

-(cid:217)it  ensures  that  any  symbols  used  correspond  to  commonly  used  pictograms,  are  easily  recognisable

and  always  have  the  same  meaning,

-(cid:217)when  using  a  combination  of  text  and  illustrations,  it  chooses  one  of  the  two  as  the  main  medium

throughout,

-(cid:217)it  does  not  confine  itself  to  pictures  with  no  text  since  that  does  not  ensure  clarity  as  pictures  alone

may  not  always  be  sufficiently  self(cid:220)explanatory.

7. Storage  of  operating  instructions  for  future  reference

In  order  to  facilitate  home  filing  and  future  use,  appropriate  formats  are  recommended.  Loose  leaves
are  avoided  and  the  layout  reflects  the  order  of  the  information.  Fonts  are  legible  for  consumers,
particularly  the  elderly.

Highlighting  important  information,  such  as  safety  advice,  is  useful.