Product category:
Compliance Engineering
News Release from: Design Chain Associates | Subject: RoHS Business Compliance Programme
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 27 March 2006
RoHS programme focuses on continued
compliance
A new service is designed to help electronics OEMs ensure their ability to continue to develop and produce RoHS-compliant products.
Design Chain Associates has developed a new service designed to help electronics OEMs ensure their ability to continue to develop and produce RoHS-compliant products Although the electronics industry has spent an inordinate amount of time, effort, and money to make sure products comply with the upcoming implementation date of 1st July 2006 for the European Union's RoHS Directive, far less attention has been paid to remaining compliant after the date has come and gone
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 21 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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RoHS compliance must become part of how electronics OEMs operate, which is conceptually no different than having to comply with other legal and safety requirements that already exist, such as the EU's CE mark or the USA's FCC rules part 15.
This means identifying business processes and tools within the company that may require some modifications in order to achieve continued compliance.
Most of these business processes centre around product development; supplier and component selection, qualification, management, and maintenance; procurement and supplier contracts; sales; and product field maintenance.
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Tools used for product design (CAD); BOM, supplier and component management (PLM); and product sales and customer management (CRM/ERP) will often require incremental changes in order to support the new requirements of the business processes that rely on them.
DCA offers a suite of services intended to both help and validate electronics OEMs' approaches to the challenge of continued RoHS compliance.
Gap assessment works out the delta between your processes and design/PLM/ERP/CRM tools today and where they need to be to ensure continued compliance with RoHS.
For those companies that already know what the gaps are but are unsure of the best way to close them, the gap closure service assists through the process of achieving corporate long-term compliance.
Companies that have already modified their tools and business processes can benefit from an expert-level review of those processes.
Finally, a best practices survey will describe how business processes and the supporting/enabling tools that underlie them can be improved to become more efficient and effective.
Michael Kirschner, President of Design Chain Associates, notes: "While there are various EU RoHS self-audit programmes and narrowly scoped RoHS audit services (and even a proposed industry standard for business process compliance that was rejected by the IEC) out there, nothing we have seen shows the level of understanding, depth, or breadth of scope required to identify all the 'nooks and crannies' in an electronics OEM that could be impacted by RoHS".
"So while we have been delivering these services for the past 18 months anyway, we have now formalised them".
Any company that is ISO9001:2000 certified already must review its operation in light of new legal requirements.
With DCA's extensive experience in developing, implementing, and auditing to ISO9001 level requirements, its expertise in design chain and supply chain definition, DCA reckons it is the obvious choice for OEMs needing to achieve or verify their ability to continue to comply with RoHS.
Kenneth Stanvick, Sr Vice President of DCA and leader of DCA's RoHS focus, adds: "When we're doing these reviews and audits, because of our backgrounds and decades of direct experience in these areas, we often identify areas where companies can improve their efficiency and effectiveness".
"As a famous doctor once said, 'as long as the patient is open'".
"We try and make this process ultimately beneficial to the organisation; RoHS does not just have to be a cost centre".
"We help turn it around so our clients can improve their profitability and shareholder value".
DCA's RoHS Business Compliance Programme is available immediately.
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