FQA's record-keeping rules worry distributors
By Industrial Distribution Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 12/1/1999
Newton, Mass.--As the Fastener Quality Act finally takes effect this month, some distributors are concerned about the new record-keeping rules to show customers that their products conform to the law.Amendments to the law signed by President Clinton last summer focus on anti-fraud measures and contain fewer government mandates than the measure proposed earlier. The new law recognizes improvements in the industry's quality assurance systems made over the last 10 years and largely eliminates requirements for testing at government-accredited labs.
The FQA covers fasteners that are defined as metallic nuts, bolts, screws and studs 1/4 inch (6mm) or larger which are through hardened and grade marked. It also covers load indicating washers (ASTM F959/M) or their foreign equivalent.
The measure exempts many fasteners, including those produced in accordance with an approved quality system; produced to an OEM proprietary standard; those sold as part of assembled products; those sold as spare parts in packages of less than 75; fasteners approved for aircraft manufacturers by the FAA or other foreign airworthiness authorities; ASTM A307 carbon steel bolts and studs; and ASTM F432 mining fasteners.
Still, the new FQA promises to be a headache for some distributors and manufacturers when it comes to the traceability, or record keeping.
R.J. Harris, president of Southern Fasteners & Supply in Winston-Salem, N.C., says his company will spend about $30,000 during the next few months to become ISO 9000 certified -- in part to meet quality assurance standards. Doing that is not a problem, he says.
Rather, Harris is concerned by what he calls a reluctance by some suppliers to provide records or certification to show that fasteners manufactured before Dec. 9, 1999, and offered for sale as conforming to the law actually do so.
"As a distributor, a big problem we have is getting manufacturers to send certification with the product," he says. "They want to hold it until your customer may require it ... it should be standard procedure to ship those certifications with the product as it goes out the door."
Some end users have already told Harris that if his company buys from ISO-certified suppliers, they won't worry much about traceability.
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