Chris I would be inclined to look at the General Product Safety Directive http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1992/en_392L0059.html and the Product Liability Directive http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1999/en_399L0034.html
You would probably also have to look at "case law" which resulted from the application of these two directives - notably the latter! Probably means that you would need to talk of to relevant legal counsel (e.g. CMS Cameron McKenna = law...@cmck.com) who specialise in these directives. When you have shown how liable the company becomes under these, then maybe you can scare the pants of the marketing department! However, if for some reason, you do have to go ahead with these mod kits, then ensure you have extremely explicit instructions (what to do/not do) and diagrams - preceeed by a clear warning that the mods must only be performed by a techically trained and competant person, and that the owner should not proceed with the mods if he has any doubts on his ability to perform them safely. However, in the marketing department's defence, it must be said that even repairing your own car incorrectly can be extremely dangerous (far more so than these mod kits)- and yet you can buy the parts and the service manuals almost anywhere. So there is some case for saying that such modifications can be quite acceptable if performed by the right person with the correct tools and training. Regards John Allen Thales Bracknell (This is probably my last post on the forum as I will be leaving Thales tomorrow! You might also -----Original Message----- From: Colgan, Chris [mailto:chris.col...@tagmclaren.com] Sent: 19 March 2002 12:36 To: 'Emc-Pstc' (E-mail) Subject: product modifications by the end user Hello good people Just say someone in your marketing department came up with the bright idea of selling upgrade kits to an unqualified, untrained end user that involved removing the top cover of a product. In the process not only would the victim be exposed to hazardous voltages (if the product was still connected to the mains) but he/she would also have to wire up mains connections. There would also be a possibility that critical insulation would be disturbed. Apart from telling them that they were mad and suggesting that someone could be killed or seriously injured, would there be any black and white legislation that you could use to help bin this idea? I can't find anything specific in EN60065 or the LVD. Thanks for any input Chris Colgan Compliance Engineer TAG McLaren Audio Ltd The Summit, Latham Road Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 6ZU *Tel: +44 (0)1480 415 627 *Fax: +44 (0)1480 52159 * Mailto:chris.col...@tagmclaren.com * http://www.tagmclaren.com ************************************************************** Please visit us at www.tagmclaren.com ************************************************************** The contents of this E-mail are confidential and for the exclusive use of the intended recipient. If you receive this E-mail in error, please delete it from your system immediately and notify us either by E-mail, telephone or fax. You should not copy, forward or otherwise disclose the content of the E-mail. TAG McLaren Audio Ltd The Summit, 11 Latham Road Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 6ZU Telephone : 01480 415600 (+44 1480 415600) Facsimile : 01480 52159 (+44 1480 52159) ************************************************************** Please visit us at www.tagmclaren.com ************************************************************** ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: emc-p...@hypercom.com Dave Heald: davehe...@mediaone.net For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://ieeepstc.mindcruiser.com/ Click on "browse" and then "emc-pstc mailing list" ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: emc-p...@hypercom.com Dave Heald: davehe...@mediaone.net For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://ieeepstc.mindcruiser.com/ Click on "browse" and then "emc-pstc mailing list"
