George, The whole issue of repairs is a big problem for both the agencies and the manufacturers. As you pointed out, most markings can only be applied at the registered manufacturing site. But there is good reason for this; it's not just bureaucracy on the part of the agencies.
At the manufacturing site, both the agencies and the manufacturer, can inspect a product and assure that it is being built to the correct specifications. But there is really no such assurance at a repair shop. In fact the repair shop may well be rendering the unit unsafe, which brings up the scary question: Who is liable in case of injury? The repair shop, or the manufacturer, whose label is clearly displayed on the unit? Mayhaps the manufacturer should be more eager to REMOVE the label, rather than bend over backwards to replace it. For those repair shops that are fully qualified by the manufacturer, most agencies offer some type of "remanufacturing" label. But, yes, they must be registered "agents." There really is no practical way that an agency would be willing to approve this sort of thing unless they were able to inspect the final product. It would be foolhardy and senseless. To keep thing is perspective, however, the agencies are mostly concerned with mass production of a large number of products, where a fundamental design or manufacturing problem may result in injury. They are LESS concerned with any one single production unit. Since it is very rare for markings to have to be actually replaced, you may want to choose to simply do whatever you think is the "right thing" and not overburden the agency with such extraneous information ... But whatever you decide to do, don't forget where the liability falls. Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear. Best regards, Egon Varju Disclaimer: These are most definitely personal opinions. Corporate will gleefully confirm that I have no idea what I'm talking about.
