Parts purchasing guidelines

If you are a member of the RespiraWorks team, please don’t buy anything using personal funds (we need to document everything in specific ways to meet the requirements of our grant funding).

Before purchasing any parts, ask team members if they have any spare parts floating around. There are a lot of extras, so you may be able to get your hands on parts without ordering anything.

Particularly, take note of components that may require special tools. Perhaps someone else on the team has purchased the tools and can manufacture the parts without you having to also buy specialized tools.

When selecting parts to purchase, please note that the supplier links are only suggestions. Prices and shipping times are in flux. To the extent you can, try to find a similar product that can get to you faster. What you order doesn’t have to come from the same supplier as listed.

If you do need to purchase parts, follow the process below. Note: This process is subject to change as we work out any issues. Message Curtis Kline with any questions.

  1. If you need to buy something, put the details into a post in #purchasing-sourcing (RespiraWorks Slack channel) and tag the @purchasing group.

  2. One of the Purchasing team members will source the items and confirm with you before placing the order.

  3. Everything will be purchased using a RespiraWorks credit card whenever possible.

  4. The Purchasing team member will reply to your message in #purchasing-sourcing with tracking info when available.

  5. In the rare case that you do buy something urgent with your own payment methods, submit your receipts to #accounting-reimburse.

Doing your part

As part of the collaborative effort of this open source project, we would very much appreciate your contribution in proofreading our pages and ensuring that the documentation is up to date.

If, while ordering components, you notice any:

  • discontinued parts

  • significant price changes

  • need to obtain parts from alternative supplier (i.e. in a different region/country)

In such cases please either:

  • notify someone on the engineering team

  • (better) make a github ticket identifying errors/deficiencies

  • (best!) edit the page and make a pull request! (but please read wiki for contributor guidelines)