TS EN 61346-2

TS EN 61346-2 is a technical standard within the structuring and reference designation framework used for industrial systems, installations, equipment and industrial products. Its title points to the classification of objects and the use of class codes, which are part of the common documentation language engineers use to identify and organise items consistently. The standard is withdrawn, but the topic remains relevant wherever technical documents need a disciplined way to distinguish components, equipment and system elements.

How classification supports reference designation

In general technical practice, classification tells you what kind of object something is, while reference designation tells you where it belongs in the documentation structure and how it relates to other items. In industrial environments, the same physical object may need to be described by its function, its location, its assembly structure or its product identity. Class codes help keep those descriptions consistent across drawings, data records and engineering files. This is especially useful in complex plant, machine and control-system documentation, where many similar objects must be distinguished without ambiguity.

From the title alone, the focus of this part is on object classification and the coding of classes, rather than on describing individual devices one by one. In practical terms, that means establishing a shared way to group items so that different teams can refer to them in the same technical language. In document control, maintenance records, asset lists and system integration work, such structure reduces confusion between similar components and supports clearer cross-referencing.

• Supports consistent grouping of objects by function, type or structural characteristics.
• Helps create uniform class codes for reference designations.
• Provides a shared documentation language for drawings, data and maintenance records.
• Reduces confusion between parts, equipment and higher-level system elements.