Re: Safety?
The other side of the coin is when a component unexpectedly becomes unavailable just after getting a huge order, and so the product needs a small modification to use an equivalent component of exactly the same functionality and basic specifications as the unavailable one.
Although the mod is technically minor, it requires a new layout for the PCB and/or change to a plastic moulding (and so gets a new model number), which means tooling changes and a prototype run delays things.
So now the customer is getting pretty tetchy and threatening to cancel. Do you wait another 4 weeks to get everything re-tested, or, knowing that the mod has made bugger-all difference to any aspect that needs testing, just sell it now under the old certificates and test afterwards ?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
