Hi Brian Harlowe, I'm not aware of a "EU Legislation" that says a company can't service or maintain purchased equipment. Our company is in the same situation as you are: we manufacture laboratory equipment and sell it world wide. We also test our products to EN61010 which is not as strict in these areas as consumer products would be if tested to EN60950. It is assumed that the operator has the proper training to perform the necessary tasks of their job.
Many of our customers demand to service and maintain our products themselves, so we have to provide procedures, schematics, part lists, assembly diagrams, etc... This request is so common that we provide all this information with every unit now. The manufacturer of a product is not responsible for the technical level of the operator or the person who maintains or services the instrument at the customer location. The customer has the burden to make sure his people are properly trained for the tasks under their job description. As a manufacturer, you have to provide a safe product and provide instructions for safe operation, maintenance, and service. As for maintenance and service, provide the proper warnings in the documentation and on the product such as "Warning: High Voltage. Remove Mains Cord prior to removing panel". Your job is to identify all hazards whether it is the operator or a service person who will be performing the task. You don't have to provide Maintenance and Service information for your customers. You can make a stand and say that these tasks can only be performed by your own people. BUT, you will still have to generate maintenance and service documentation for in-house use. This is a requirement especially if documentation is required to insure the safety of the person performing the maintenance or service. So the question is, what's wrong with providing your customer with Maintenance and Service information on your product? Nothing that I am aware of as long as you do a good job in identifying the hazards. Our company takes a similar view as our customers. We will not purchase a piece of equipment, whether a computer, a lift truck, or digital scope unless we can obtain the schematics, drawings, and service documentation. I think in this industry it is for the most part a requirement of doing business. Brian Kunde ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brian Harlowe" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 1999 12:04 PM Subject: Servicing and repairs Traditionally my company has encouraged it's users to carry out a limited amount of servicing and repair on our Electronic units. Under the EU Safety legislation I know this is now a No No. I am a little bit of a lone voice crying in the wilderness as far as our management is concerned. Can any one out there quote me any instances or cases that I can use to drive home the point with our management A happy Christmas to you fellow compliance people and if we survive the Y2K business. Good luck in the new century and may this newsgroup continue to prosper Best Regards Brian Harlowe * opinions expressed here are personal and in no way reflect the position of VG Scientific --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] (the list administrators). --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] (the list administrators).
