How should responsibility be divided? Does the designer need to go to jail?
Thread Content
In the case of non-standard mechanical equipment designed this way, if safety explosions occur as a result of problems with the equipment and people die, how is responsibility allocated? Does the designer have to go to jail? The equipment is custom-made and used for producing chemical products (the products are liquid diluents that are flammable and explosive, similar to gasoline; when the volatile gases mix with air, they can explode easily in the presence of static electricity or an ignition source).
The emergency management department will clarify responsibilities, and all aspects such as production, installation, and operation will be analyzed. If the analysis indicates that it is the responsibility of the design institute, then responsibilities will be determined step by step, at the levels of the institute, specialized departments, designers, reviewers, etc. At Chengda Institute, an accident occurred in a project due to changes in ground management, and the assistant designer who had just started working was held criminally responsible.
The company is responsible; it’s not just you who needs to sign, there’s also a person in charge.
Designers are a vulnerable group; their primary responsibility lies with them... acting with the intent to sell drugs, yet earning money as if selling ordinary goods……
First, determine whether it is a design issue, a manufacturing issue, or a usage issue, and then investigate step by step to assign responsibility.
As designers, safety should be considered from the design stage, and measures should be taken to prevent accidents. Since this equipment is used in flammable and explosive environments, safety measures such as fire prevention, explosion prevention, prevention of static electricity accumulation, elimination of ignition sources, as well as reduction and isolation of air, must be implemented.
Theoretically, the designer is not held accountable externally; those who should bear responsibility are the company’s technical supervisor, as well as the reviewers and approvers who sign the drawings. Of course, this is on the premise that the design documents have been reviewed by the relevant party, who deemed them to be fine and signed off on them ； If the design documents are altered without authorization later on, and those changes are not shown to the reviewers again, it is the responsibility of the designer.
The corporate legal person is the primary responsible party, whether they understand it or not, and whether they pay attention or not. Next is the review supervisor, of course, in the name of the company. Once again, it’s the designers, still in the name of the company. Therefore, the responsibility of the designer depends on whether the company is willing to take responsibility, and whether it will hold the individual accountable once it assumes that responsibility.
As a side note, individuals are not qualified to design; only companies are. Don’t talk about so-and-so’s design certificate; it only takes effect under the company’s name.
Which link has a problem, and which link is responsible?