Richard, In my company we have a number of departments that must answer to someone in a regulatory sense. For us, it makes sense to keep them all separate. For example, our Shipping Department deals with packaging issues and the Department of Transportation (DOT), our Facilities Department does much more that keep the toilets unplugged and the light bulbs lit. They must handle all the workplace safety issues such as Right to Know (MSDS), acoustic noise, material handling issues, waste, etc. These people generally answer to OSHA. We have another department called Quality Services to insure that we ship only quality products, they answer to our ISO 9000 Registrar. And of course there are those who must answer to other regulatory bodies such as the Finance Department, Human Resources, Legal Services, but I don't think there any of those types on this listserv group. Occasionally I have reason for cross paths with the Quality Services and Facilities people but for the most part my efforts are focus on Safety & EMC issues related to our products. And as you probably know EMC has been expanding to include Power Quality issues, at least in the EU.
A few years ago, we attempted to put together a small group of representatives from each of these departments and call it something like the Compliance Department. Interest was low, and after the first two meetings it pretty much fell apart. We really could not establish and agenda and no one really saw any immediate value. Personally I felt that this could be a forum for company responsibility & ethics. -doug ================================= Douglas E. Powell Regulatory Compliance Engineer (: Product Safety & EMC :) Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. 1625 Sharp Point Dr. Ft. Collins, Co 80525 mailto:[email protected] http:\\www.advanced-energy.com\ ================================= -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2000 7:40 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Health and Safety Most of us work in departments with names like EMC Engineering, Product Safety, Compliance Engineering, Regulatory Compliance, etc. However, these names reflect the narrow set of issues that are being addressed by these groups. I am curious about the names of groups that address a wider set of product compliance issues. In particular, those that address all aspects of the health and safety of users. These issues might include human exposure to EMF, sound, chemicals, etc.; recycling of packaging and equipment waste; compliance with US ADA requirements; low energy consumption; and potential interactions with other equipment (even though both are compliant). What department names are used that address the wider issues affecting the health and safety of users? Richard Woods ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Jim Bacher: [email protected] Michael Garretson: [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Jim Bacher: [email protected] Michael Garretson: [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected]
