This part of IEC 60300 describes a framework for the specification of services related to the maintenance support of products, systems and equipment that are carried out during the operation and maintenance phase. The purpose of this standard is to outline, in a generic manner, the development of agreements for maintenance support services as well as guidelines for the management and monitoring of these agreements by both the company and the service provider. This standard is intended for use by a wide range of suppliers, maintenance support organizations and users and can be applied to all items. For consistency in this standard, the user, operator and owner are referred to as the company and the organization or vendor providing the maintenance support service is called the service provider. This standard is applicable to items, which include all types of products, equipment and systems (hardware and software). Most of these require a certain level of maintenance to ensure that their required functionality, dependability, capability, economic, safety and regulatory requirements are achieved. NOTE For consistency, this standard will use the term “item” as defined in 3.1.4, except where the context requires otherwise.