Re: Government regulations

Spehro Pefhany wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:36:55 -0700 (PDT), the renowned rickman
<gnuarm@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Aug 12, 6:33 pm, Tim Wescott <t...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
rickman wrote:
I have done work before for government contractors, but I have never
had to handle any paperwork that is typically required of larger
corporations. I currently am supplying boards with an annual dollar
value that will total more than a threshold that appears to be set not
by government regulation, but by a company who is acting as a middle
man in the procurement process. As such, they are asking me to make
certifications, comply with regulations and provide "reports"
according to:
41 C.F.R. § 60-1.4(a), or its successors
41 C.F.R. § 60-1.4(d)
41 C.F.R. § 60-1.7, or its successors
41 C.F.R. § 61-250.10
41 C.F.R. § 61-300.10, or its successors
41 C.F.R. § 60-300.5(a)
41 C.F.R. § 60-300.5(d)
41 C.F.R. § 60-741.5(a)
41 C.F.R. § 60-741.5(d)
I have looked at a couple of these and they seem pretty innocuous
except for the parts that talk about reports and including the same
language in any "contract" that I make with others. I don't think I
have the pull to get my vendors to sign anything other than the checks
I mail them.
At least one of these exempts companies that have fewer than some
number of employees, so I would have an out there. But others don't
seem to have that.
This seems rather an onerous burden for a small company to bear.
Anyone here have experience with this sort of thing? Is there a
general escape clause for very small companies or do we still have to
add to our overhead these forms and regulations?
The whole reason that I was able to bid and win this contract was
because of my low overhead. It seems counter productive to add this
sort of burden to it.
Rick
Are you contractually obliged to provide these certifications?

If not, why are you trying to worm out of them by the letter of the
CFRs? Just find a nice way to tell the middleman to stuff it.

If yes, perhaps its a very expensive lesson on reading the whole dang
thing before you sign?
I haven't signed anything yet. I have completed the development and
now I am being asked to produce the boards. The PO for the
development was from my customer and had no language like this. The
PO from the third party has all sorts of language that I have issues
with. The first post was about a "Vendor Certification Form". I have
since received the PO and it has even more language that I find
difficult to meet. I am asked to "indemnify" the buyer against any
claims of IP violations or "accidents, occurrences, injuries or
losses" from using the product. This just sounds incredibly broad and
vague.

I don't know how I can possibly accept this PO with the included terms
and conditions. For one I will have to obtain liability insurance and
that will take some time and I will have to raise the price to include
that.

I guess I'll have to discuss all this with a lawyer and my insurance
agent.

Rick

Well, quite often the boilerplate on PO's has this kind of stupid and
one-sided "agreement", but your boilerplate on your order confirmation
should counteract it and leave you with an acceptable situation.

I recall getting one PO that was just *so* bizarrely extreme we just
threw it back at the would-be customer and told them to go away and
never darken our doorstep again. They eventually placed the order
through a third party at double the price.

Sometimes the most valuable business tool is
the ability and strength to say no to a deal.

On the other hand, if you can work out a compromise,
and that should be your goal, these sorts of deals
can be lucrative for a number of years, since your
competition won't go to the trouble to jump through
the hoops.

You've probably reminded all the parties that the
reason they picked you is because you could do it
cheaper and faster than anyone else. Now they have
changed the rules. You'll probably have to do some
sort of boilerplate certificate of compliance, and
that's ok. The IP indemnity is definitely not ok.

Talk with your lawyer, but don't expect much solid
advice. Let us know how it goes.





.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Government regulations
    ... I currently am supplying boards with an annual dollar ... Anyone here have experience with this sort of thing? ... Are you contractually obliged to provide these certifications? ... development was from my customer and had no language like this. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: Government regulations
    ... I currently am supplying boards with an annual dollar ... Anyone here have experience with this sort of thing? ... Are you contractually obliged to provide these certifications? ... development was from my customer and had no language like this. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: Government regulations
    ... I currently am supplying boards with an annual dollar ... Anyone here have experience with this sort of thing? ... The whole reason that I was able to bid and win this contract was ... development was from my customer and had no language like this. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: first steps with perl, a log reader
    ... Express those purposes, and the steps to achieve them, in plain language. ... With this sort of comment I wouldn't be L'ing OL at this point. ... Now here's where Perl splits people. ... 'use warnings' will give you all that you need ...
    (perl.beginners)
  • Re: Macro to Sort 5 Column Table
    ... If you type Sort into ... FieldNumber Optional Variant The first field by which to sort. ... depending on the language support (U.S. ...
    (microsoft.public.word.vba.beginners)