How is DITA used for documenting maritime equipment operation, maintenance, and safety procedures?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

DITA XML is a valuable tool for documenting maritime equipment operation, maintenance, and safety procedures. It allows maritime organizations to create structured, reusable content that enhances the clarity and effectiveness of their documentation. Here are key aspects of how DITA is used for this purpose:

Topic-Based Authoring

Maritime documentation often covers various aspects of equipment operation, maintenance, and safety procedures. DITA promotes topic-based authoring, allowing each procedure, guideline, or safety protocol to be a separate topic. This modular approach makes it easy to create, update, and reuse content across different documents.

Conditional Text

DITA provides a feature known as conditional text, enabling authors to include or exclude specific content based on conditions. For instance, safety procedures may vary depending on the type of equipment or vessel. Conditional text allows authors to tailor documentation for different scenarios, ensuring that crew members receive relevant information.

Example:

Here’s an example of conditional text in DITA:


<topic id="equipment_maintenance">
  <title>Maintenance Procedure</title>
  <body>
    <p>This is a general maintenance procedure for maritime equipment.</p>
    <conditional-text conkeyref="equipment_type" conref="maintenance_cargo_ship.dita" />
    <conditional-text conkeyref="equipment_type" conref="maintenance_fishing_vessel.dita" />
  </body>

In this DITA topic, conditional text is used to reference specific maintenance procedures based on the equipment type, allowing customization for different vessels.