Qualified Capacity · Policies
Policies
How Qualified Capacity handles information — from visitors, from Desk submissions, from the Diagnostic, and from the Roster when it opens.
This page establishes the structure, voice, and Qualified Capacity-specific commitments. The boilerplate disclosures required under U.S. state privacy laws and the General Data Protection Regulation are presently scaffolded and marked. They will be replaced with the policy text generated by the consent management platform once the property is provisioned, and reviewed by counsel before deployment. Until then, treat this page as a draft of intent rather than the operative policy.
Section 01
Privacy Policy
Qualified Capacity is a brand about information protection. The way we handle yours is part of the discipline we publish.
Who we are
Qualified Capacity is operated by Meridian Industrial Partners LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Meridian Industrial Partners is the data controller for information collected through qualifiedcapacity.com. References below to “we,” “us,” or “Qualified Capacity” mean Meridian Industrial Partners LLC.
What this policy covers
This policy describes how we collect, use, share, and protect information from visitors to qualifiedcapacity.com, practitioners who write to the Desk, members of the Qualified Capacity Roster (when it opens to onboarding), and individuals who interact with us through email, social, or events.
Qualified Capacity-specific commitments
The brand makes several commitments about specific surfaces. These are stated here in plain language because they are substantive to how this site operates, and they will not change without notice on this page.
The Desk
Submissions to the Desk pass through a four-point sanitization template before any answer is drafted. Identifying details about the practitioner, the shop, the contract, or any specific incident are stripped before drafting and are not retained in raw form beyond the reply window. Only the sanitized question and the published answer are retained in the archive. The Desk does not retain or share contract-sensitive, classified, controlled-unclassified, or trade-secret material; submissions containing such material have that material stripped before drafting and are not stored.
The Diagnostic
The Diagnostic runs entirely on your device. We collect no telemetry, no responses, no scores, and no identifiers from Diagnostic use. Nothing you enter into the Diagnostic leaves your browser or device. The Diagnostic is a gift to the Defense Industrial Base, and the absence of data collection is part of the gift.
The Roster
The Qualified Capacity Roster is a gated directory, not a public list. Public-facing fields are limited to name, shop, city/state, tier, and standing date. Onboarding to the Roster requires explicit consent and authentication. Roster members may withdraw at any time, and withdrawal removes the member from the public-facing directory within seven days.
Information we collect
Standard categories to enumerate here include: information you provide directly (forms, emails); information collected automatically (logs, cookies, analytics); information from third parties (social platforms, analytics providers). Each category requires its lawful basis under GDPR / UK GDPR and its disclosure category under CCPA / CPRA. The consent management platform will generate this section based on the QC property configuration.
How we use information
Standard purposes to enumerate: deliver the services you request (answer your Desk submission, deliver requested communications), operate and improve the site, understand how the site is used, communicate with you about updates, comply with legal obligations. Each purpose maps to a specific category of information collected.
Sharing and disclosure
Standard recipients to enumerate: service providers (hosting, analytics, email), legal authorities where required by law, in connection with a business transaction. Cross-reference applicable safeguards (contractual data protection, standard contractual clauses for international transfers).
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have rights in relation to information about you. These include rights to access, correct, delete, port, and object to or restrict certain processing of your information, and the right to withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis for processing.
- If you live in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, your rights are described in the General Data Protection Regulation, the UK GDPR, and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection respectively.
- If you live in California, your rights are described in the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act.
- If you live in Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, Iowa, Tennessee, Indiana, Delaware, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Maryland, or other U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws, your rights are described in those laws.
To exercise any of these rights, write to policies@meridianindustrialpartners.com. We respond within the timeframe required by the law that applies to you.
Data retention
Standard retention statement to articulate, by data category and purpose, with reference to the brand-specific commitments above (Desk: only the sanitized record; Diagnostic: nothing; Roster: until withdrawal plus archival period).
Children’s privacy
Qualified Capacity is not directed to children under thirteen, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under thirteen. If you believe a child under thirteen has provided us with personal information, please contact policies@meridianindustrialpartners.com and we will delete the information.
International transfers
Standard cross-border transfer disclosure. Qualified Capacity is operated from the United States. Visitors from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and other jurisdictions may have their information transferred to the United States. The consent platform will generate the appropriate Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent disclosure language.
Updates
This policy may change. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. For material changes, we will provide additional notice through the site or by email where we have your address.
Section 02
Terms of Use
The terms below govern your use of qualifiedcapacity.com and the surfaces it provides — the book content, the Diagnostic, the Desk, and what becomes available as the Ladder and Roster open.
Acceptance
By using qualifiedcapacity.com you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the site.
Permitted use
You may read the content, run the Diagnostic for your own use or for the use of your shop, submit questions to the Desk under the conditions stated on the Desk page, and link to public pages of the site. You may share excerpts of published content with attribution. You may not scrape or systematically reproduce the site, attempt to identify Desk submitters from sanitized answers, use the site to harass or harm others, or interfere with the operation of the site.
Intellectual property
Qualified Capacity™ is a trademark of Meridian Industrial Partners LLC. The Qualified Capacity Index, the Qualified Capacity Ladder, the ESB Quality Capability Engineering framework, the language and structure of this site and the underlying book, and the visual identity used here, are property of Meridian Industrial Partners LLC. The book It Takes the Whole Shop is published under the Qualified Capacity Press imprint of Meridian Industrial Partners LLC. Copyright in the book is jointly held by the author, David Kirubi, and Meridian Industrial Partners LLC, with all rights reserved. Citations of regulations and standards (DFARS, NIST publications, CMMC framework documents, AS9100, ISO 9001, and related government and industry standards) are public material attributed to the issuing body.
The Desk — what it is and is not
Read carefully
The Desk is not a substitute for assessor, counsel, or C3PAO judgment. It is a public discipline-question forum that produces sanitized, cited answers to help practitioners see the shape of a problem. For your specific situation, contract, environment, or incident, take the shape to your Registered Practitioner Organization, your Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization, or your counsel, and have it adjudicated there. Nothing the Desk publishes is legal advice or a compliance determination for any specific shop.
The Diagnostic — what it is and is not
The Diagnostic is a self-assessment tool that helps you and your team see how your existing practice maps to the fourteen NIST SP 800-171 control families and where the gaps lie. Your results are not validated by a third party, do not constitute a CMMC assessment, do not appear in the Supplier Performance Risk System, and are not legal or compliance advice. They are an honest first picture for your own use, run on your own device.
Disclaimers
The site is provided “as is.” To the maximum extent permitted by law, Meridian Industrial Partners LLC and its officers, members, agents, and contractors disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
Limitation of liability
Standard limitation-of-liability clause to articulate, with consideration of the consumer-facing nature of the site, the small-business audience, and the fact that the site does not collect payment. The clause should include a cap, exclusions for gross negligence, willful misconduct, and indemnification obligations, and should be reviewed by counsel before deployment.
Indemnification
Standard mutual or one-way indemnification clause depending on counsel’s recommendation for a public-facing thesis site. Reciprocity is uncommon for this configuration but should be evaluated.
Dispute resolution and governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these terms or the site shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Delaware, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
The choice of mandatory arbitration versus court litigation is a strategic decision counsel should make before deployment. The clause above defaults to courts; an arbitration alternative will require an arbitration agreement, class-waiver provisions where lawful, and a venue selection.
Changes
We may update these terms. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the changes.
Section 04
Contact
Where to write about anything on this page, including to exercise a privacy right, ask a question, or correct something we got wrong.
Policies and privacy questions:
policies@meridianindustrialpartners.com
General contact:
info@qualifiedcapacity.com
Data controller:
Meridian Industrial Partners LLC
A Delaware limited liability company
Dallas, Texas, United States