Design and product liability

Failure costs - Internal failure costs are essentially the cost of failures identified and rectified before the final product gets to the external customer, such as rework, scrap, design changes. External failure costs include product recall, warranty and product liability claims. 

The protocol must include the proposed tentative specifications of the in-process product with the acceptance criteria and directs the finalization of the specification at the end of the development stage. The specification should be proposed based upon the product design that is, the specification includes the size, shape, impurities, and nature of the materials, such as viscosity and tension. Developing the specifications of the final product and parts for assembly must be performed to specify the product efficacy and product liability based on the design concept and scientific data, such as stability data. 

George Eads and Peter Reuter, Designating Safer Products Gorporate Responses to Product Liability Law and Regulation, The Rand Corporation Institute for Civil justice, Santa Monica, CA, 1983. 

As a supplier you have a responsibility to establish your customer requirements and expectations. If you do not determine conditions that may be detrimental to the product and you supply the product as meeting the customer needs and it subsequently fails, the failure is your liability. If the customer did not provide reasonable opportunity for you to establish the requirements, the failure may be the customer s liability. If you think you may need some extra information in order to design a product that meets the customer needs, you must obtain it or declare your assumptions. A nil response is often taken as acceptance in full. 

The information contained in the Material Data Sheets has been compiled from data considered accurate. However, properties are known to vary depending on the source of raw materials, climatic and other variables applicable to materials of botanical origin. [Company Name] expressly disclaim any warranty expressed or implied as well as any liability for any injury or loss arising from the use of this information or the materials described. This data is not to be construed as absolutely complete since additional data may be desirable when particular conditions or circumstances exist. It is the responsibility of the user to determine the best precautions necessary for the safe handling and use of this product for their particular application. This data relates only to the specific material designated and not when used in combination with any other material. 

Under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), certain wastes containing designated TPH compounds and petroleum-related industrial wastes are listed as hazardous. However, RCRA excludes some TPH-related wastes from regulations (e.g., certain exploration, well development, and productions wastes). The RCRA-listed wastes are also controlled under the Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for accidental releases to the environment. 

Generally, lawsuits involving product liability will increase, with manufacturers more vulnerable in cases of negligence in design or lack of reasonable foresight. Warranty disclaimers (the fine print carefully added at the end of properly constructed technical bulletins) and privity of... 

---