Regarding the archiving of design drawings and design life
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How long are design drawings generally stored in the drawing archive? Additionally, I would like to ask: for example, if a pressure vessel is designed to have a service life of 10 years and an accident occurs within that period, are the design reviewers liable if the problem stems from flaws in the design drawings? If an accident occurs to the equipment in 10 years, can the design reviewers then be exempt from liability? I’ve been confused by these questions; thanks for the answer!
GB150 seems to stipulate that the retention period for the technical documents of the manufacturing unit should be 7 years; I’m not sure about the requirement for design units, but it’s likely that this 7-year period can be used as a reference.
During the design service life, if it is a design issue, the design agency and relevant personnel shall be held responsible. The manufacturer will not be held responsible for any issues that arise after the design lifespan has passed, as equipment that has exceeded its useful life can only be reused after passing inspections and evaluations by relevant regulatory authorities; this is not the responsibility of the design team
According to current regulations, design is a factor that matters; in other words, any issue related to the design of the equipment is relevant. Of course, in the case of equipment that is in use beyond its intended lifespan, the responsibility for any accidents lies primarily with the user and the inspection authorities, as design-related problems are generally no longer an issue at this point. As for design problems that arise during the equipment’s operational life, the designers bear primary responsibility.
It is generally stored for 7 years, after which it can be transferred to another user if needed