Source
ESB
January 25, 2006
This
article is the first of three articles that look at services manufacturers can
use to support their RoHS compliance. These first two articles look at the RoHS
support distributors offer their customers. The third article looks at service
companies that have developed solutions specifically designed to help OEMs
prove they have completed the due diligence required to meet the rules of the
European Union’s (EU) Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS).
As
the July 1, 2006 RoHS deadline approaches, EU countries have indicated
manufacturers shipping product to Europe will have to take a number of measures
to prove their compliance. They will have to show that all of the components in
their product have sufficiently low quantities of the six hazardous materials
outlined by RoHS. The UK has noted companies need to do more than simply show
certificates of compliance from their component suppliers. OEMs must show they
have taken additional measures to make sure the components and assemblies in
their products are compliant.
A
number of distributors have stepped up to help their customers meet the EU’s
compliance demands. For this article we spoke with Arrow Electronics Inc. of
Melville, N.Y. and Phoenix-based Avnet Inc. to find out what measures they has
taken to support the due diligence efforts of their customers.
Arrow
includes compliance information on components at the quoting level so customers
know what material content information is available before they specify those
parts in their bill of materials. “Customers want to know the content of the
components. They want the manufacturing data,” says Darr Greenhalgh, director
of supply chain solutions at the North American components division of Arrow
Electronics Inc. “We’ve updated our quoting procedures to proactively include
all they need to know about the part’s compliance.” He notes Arrow has also
updated its shipping labels and packing information to show RoHS compliance.
Arrow
has also developed RoHS educational programs for customers. This includes
information on the Arrow Website as well as formal workshops on RoHS
compliance. “We have customers who want to get compliance data self-serve
through our Website,” says Greenhalgh. “Customers can now sort through
compliance information at our Website.” Arrow has also provided a wide range of
educational programs to educate customers on RoHS compliance. “We produced
literally hundreds of educational seminars and meetings,” says Greenhalgh.
“Sometimes they’re formal in a big setting or at a regional meeting. Other
times they are at the branch level with an individual customer.”
Avnet
gives its customers documentation indicating the content of RoHS-banned
materials. “We provide a document. We go to the component manufacturer and
select the parts-per-million info – whether it’s RoHS compliant or not – and we
offer that to our customers,” says Steve Schultz, program manager for Avnet’s
lead-free initiative. “We also show our customers what they’ve purchased over
the past six months and show them the amount of chemicals in those parts.”
Avnet
expects the history of purchased parts will help if an EU company asks an OEM
to provide data indicating the components that make up its finished product are
compliant. “Say Hungry wants component data. You have a certain amount of time
to provide it,” explains Schultz. “If you have purchased your parts from Avnet,
you don’t have to scramble to get the information. We would be able to pull up
compliance information on all the components you’ve purchased.”
Both
Avnet and Arrow also have fee-based services that offer further help in
managing compliance data on components. The fee-based services bring the added
value of showing risk elements on individual components as well as lifecycle
information. The fee-based services also include data on components that are
not actually part of Avnet or Arrow’s line cards.
Once
the industry adjusts to RoHS, there will be additional environmental laws to
face. China recently announced its own RoHS laws, which differ from the EU
legislation. For one thing, there will be fewer exemptions. “There has been a
huge focus on the EU, and rightfully so, but now we’re facing compliance with
China’s regulations and it appears they will be more stringent,” says Arrow’s
Greenhalgh. “The medical industry has exemptions in the EU, but not in China.
Even so, we’ll try to have one policy that we can utilize globally.”
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