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Mechanical Engineering: Product Manufacturing and Safety

Product Manufacturing and Safety
Disclaimer: The Lichtenberger Engineering Library is not a legal entity and no one on staff is a lawyer.  The following information is purely for helping you learn about laws, regulations, standards, and product liability. If you need legal assistance, please consult a licensed lawyer.  

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All are similar in that they are documents designed to specify and organize proper procedure, policies, or behavior on topics.

Differences:

Laws are introduced/sponsored by a Legislator, passes Legislative Branch of Government, and signed by the Executive Branch. Laws apply to everyone under the jurisdiction of the government.

  • Federal Laws must be passed by House of Representatives and Senate then signed by US President
  • State Laws, for Iowa, are passed by the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate then signed by the Iowa Governor

Regulations are written by government administrative agencies outlining how a law will be implemented. 

  • Federal Codes are written by the Federal Executive Agencies - US Cabinet Members and the departments under them. (example: FDA, EPA, FAA, etc.) 
  • State Codes are written by the State Executive Departments.

Standards are written by industries for those who work in the field. Standards are used to regulate terms, components, testing procedures, and more to allow for interoperability and consistency across the industry.

  • Professional Organizations can be as specific or broad as they desire in what they write into their standards.

Products liability issues are usually governed by case law. However, several aspects of products liability law have been addressed by statute, so be sure to check the local jurisdiction for relevant law.

Federal
The United States Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives.

U.S. laws on Products Liability in general are codified in Title 15 (Commerce and Trade) of the United States Code.
To locate other statutes search by products liability, warranty, strict liability or the type of product i.e. tobacco. Sources include:

State
To locate statutory code sections on your topic, consult the index to your state's annotated code and look for relevant terms such as products liability, warranty, strict liability or the type of product.

Federal
Regulations pertaining to Products Liability in general are located in Commerce and Trade: Title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Sources include:

State
To locate regulations on your topic, consult the index to your state's administrative code and look for relevant terms such as products liability, warranty, strict liability or the type of product

A standard is defined by the National Standards Policy Advisory Committee as:
"A prescribed set of rules, conditions, or requirements concerning definitions of terms; classification of components; specification of materials, performance, or operations; delineation of procedures; or measurement of quantity and quality in describing materials, products, systems, services, or practices."

Detailed information about Standards can be found in the Standards Library Guide: