Legal or Technical?

B

BobM

New Member
Jurisdiction
Illinois
My employer is seeking building code approval for it's products. We are an importer/reseller and don't spec anything.
As part of the approval process we need to get manufacturing drawings that we don't currently have to submit for approval.
I am a technical person, and am being criticized for not moving this along quicker, but in my mind this is a legal issue as part of our reselling agreement. Is this correct thinking?
Any insight is appreciated. Thank you in advance...

Bob
 
BobM said:
in my mind this is a legal issue as part of our reselling agreement. Is this correct thinking?
Click to expand...

It would seem so, even if someone's IQ was closer to 25, rather than 75.


BobM said:
Any insight is appreciated.
Click to expand...
It might behoove YOU to gently suggest to the "powers to be in the organization" that the issue might best be remedied if legal counsel were also consulted.
 
BobM said:
As part of the approval process we need to get manufacturing drawings that we don't currently have to submit for approval.
I am a technical person, and am being criticized for not moving this along quicker
Click to expand...

I don't see this as either legal or technical.

Your boss says get manufacturing drawings and you aren't complying fast enough.

Are you trying to avoid the issue by saying "Not my job, man"?
 
I appreciate all the comments - I do.
When I say legal issue, what I mean is we don't own the manufacturing drawings and therefore how can we submit them to others unless that's part of the reseller agreement which I don't have or know what it contains? But I'm told that they see this as a technical issue as it involves manufacturing drawings.
I've asked about the reseller agreement and am told don't worry about it, as they say they've done this before.
Not my job? Possibly, but I want to know what our obligations are as a reseller. That I see the reaction as stonewalling just makes me wonder more.
Again, thank you...
 
Let me get this straight: Your boss/bosses tasked you with contacting the vendor(s) to request technical drawings, and you'd prefer to hem, haw, and complain that it shouldn't be you?

Ok......
 
BobM said:
I am a technical person, and am being criticized for not moving this along quicker, but in my mind this is a legal issue as part of our reselling agreement. Is this correct thinking?
Click to expand...

That depends on why it's not moving faster. Lawyers provide legal advice and representation to clients. Most lawyers don't do technical drawings or oversee the process to get the drawings from wherever they are located. That's up to the client to do. Just because the requiremennt is stated in the contract doesn't make it a legal issue.

It's not the lawyer's job to step into a mangement or technical role to make the contract requirement happen. Those management and technical decisions are up for the client (the company) to handle. The company is then free to delegate those tasks to various employees to do. Your employer very likely isn't violating any laws by telling you that you are responsible to get it done unless you are being asked to provide legal advice (like what a particular contract provision means) or requires you to have some license that you don't have or requires skills mandated by law that you don't have
 
Again let me clarify. Sorry if I haven't been clear.

I 've asked for drawings and haven't received them I've asked about our obligation or agreement with the manufacturer and an told not to worry about it.
I do not see how we can submit something for approval without drawings, but am being criticized for not submitting for approval.
 
So...do you have a legal question for us?

Kinda seems like you're simply looking for people to validate your annoyance with your boss.
 
BobM said:
My employer is seeking building code approval for it's products. We are an importer/reseller and don't spec anything.
Click to expand...
You don't spec, design, engineer, or manufacturer anything. All your company does is find products and bring them to the market. Is that a fair assessment?

Then you say that you need building code approval which would indicate that the product must comply and be approved by one of the many testing organizations that must certify that the product meets code compliance in the US. That approval may already have been done if the product was imported into the US under a different product name or company.

The only place you can turn to for the manufacturing drawings and specifications is the company that designed the item or the company that is having the product manufactured. But if the product is not already approved for sale in the US as code compliant, your company will have to submit the product (not just a drawing) for testing before you get approval.

So, what is the product? Is it electrical, structural, or something else?
 

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