Why all Electrical and electronic equipment/product (EEE) manufactures & supplies need to comply with RoHS?
The RoHS aims to protect human health and environment. It encourages the design of the electrical products to be environment friendly and safe in regards to recycling and recovery. The chemicals and materials restricted under RoHS directive are hazardous to the environment and pollute landfills. They are dangerous in terms of occupational exposure during manufacturing and recycling. Thus RoHS directives ensures safe production of electronic equipments and products. The goal of RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) is to reduce the environmental effect and health impact of electronics. The legislation’s primary purpose is to make electronics manufacturing safer at every stage of an electronic device’s life cycle. RoHS Compliance for Global Market Footprint The RoHS compliance is no longer limited to EU market. The RoHS compliance is further extended across the world. The countries such as , US California , China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Norway, India, Ukraine, Singapore, UAE , Turkey, Eurasia, Brazil have passed their own laws which comply with RoHS directives and restricts the use of hazardous materials and elements in electrical equipments and electronic manufacturing which aims to protect human health and environment.The manufacturer or importer can stand its footprint in global market only if it’s products are in compliance with RoHS standards.Using non- RoHS parts is now a legal matter. This is because all products have to conform with the RoHS standards , denoted by CE mark on the products, if they are to be sold. Importance of RoHS compliance Shifting to RoHS-compliant is an important call as globally the RoHS directives are laid down as strict laws. If you do not do so, in the long run you would face greater risks, economically. Sooner or later, most of the major world markets will be covered under RoHS laws. So, shifting to RoHS-compliant products would also be essential to export Indian products or components to global markets. On the other hand, failing to comply with RoHS rules could result in hefty fines, an increase in the cost of the recycling and re-export of material, or the ban of a product from being exported. The director, manager or executive officer of a company will be regarded as having committed the offence. There can be indirect consequences also, like losing market competitiveness or future business opportunities. Challenges to overcome Throughout the electronics supply chain, all stakeholders would need to plan the changeover to RoHS-compliant products strategically, keeping in mind the costs and expenses involved in different processes. To use, produce or procure alternative safe components, modules and products will be really expensive, as extensive R&D is needed, for which companies will have to invest a great deal of time as well as resources. Enhanced manufacturing costs: To some extent, manufacturing costs would increase due to the process changes with new materials, and the low production yields associated with the new processes. The costs would also include phasing out capital equipment used for six substances banned by RoHS rules. For example, the cost of lead-free solder is approximately twice the cost of conventional lead-based solders. RoHS-compliant materials contain costly metals like silver and gold, and also need an increased rate of recycling. Manufacturing costs would also increase due to high failure rates of lead-free components during the manufacturing process. Import costs of these components and modules are also high. Technological knowhow: Since electronic products are very complex, making them green also requires technological knowhow, which is available in the developed countries. New technology calls for very high costs, leading to increased development and production costs. And this cost will definitely be passed on to the customers. Administrative expenses, which includes costs of training and gathering information, personnel and resource expenses, etc, will go up. The companies incurred cost for material declarations from suppliers and testing components for compliance, etc. Also, certification, auditing, etc, would involve costs. New Opportunities for Businesses with RoHS compliance It’s better to wake up today and take decisions before you fall back due to shortcomings in your parameters. Adhering to the rules laid down by government will definitely give you a front head to opportunities in the competitive business scenario. Complying with RoHS rules will ultimately increase the business opportunities for manufacturers as well as channel partners, as now they can compete in the global market, and their scope for exports would widen significantly. Talk to our RoHS Compliance Specialist today, meet all your regulatory compliance obligations and stay ahead of supply chain sustainability.
The need for maintaining SDS and its challenges
All manufacturers, importers, suppliers, or employer are required to check the accuracy of a Safety Data Sheet based on the actual circumstances and update it as needed. A Safety Data Sheet is required to be reviewed at least every 3 years. The record’s of SDS updates such as content, date, version and revision date shall be kept for 3 years. Main purposes of an SDS is to provide: Identification for the product and supplier. Information on hazards, steps you can take to work safely to reduce or prevent exposure to hazardous chemicals. It reflects immediate and appropriate responses in various situations, such as, first-aid, fire, accidental release) Due to workplace hazards, chemical hazards, and chemicals in the workplace, SDS updating is extremely important. SDS should be constantly updated for the safe workplace and for the safe environment. Safety Data Sheets are used for employees who may be exposed to potential hazardous products at work, employers who needs to be aware of the proper storage methods for potential hazardous products, and emergency responders such as firefighters, hazardous material crews, emergency medical technicians, etc. One way that consumers and workers are informed of the risks is by use of Safety Data Sheets. It is a document that provides workers with procedures for safe handling, safe transport and safety measures while working with a hazardous substance. SDS (Safety Data Sheet) authoring services provide SDS revisions, SDS updates, SDS data changes, and other type of SDS updates according to the SDS requirements and current SDS standards. Role of SDS in minimizing the risks to meet regulatory compliance: When working with hazardous materials, it is important to know the specific nature of the dangers that are posed by handling or being exposed to those materials. This also means it is important to identify and differentiate one hazardous material from another in order to effectively apply precautionary measures. Section 2 on SDS identifies the risks and hazards associated with the material and communicates the ways in which the material may be dangerous, as well as some guidelines for safely using the material. SDS allows the user to identify which chemicals are the principal contributors to the GHS Hazard Classifications. Thus users can be informed to implement specific procedures or protective equipment to use to mitigate those risks. As such, having an SDS at workplace with chemicals minimize the risk on hazards. And preparing or evaluating SDS becomes an important skill. Talk to our SDS specialist to overcome challenges with SDS management.
Difference between SDS and eSDS
SDS is known as Safety Data Sheet: The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals is internationally accepted and contains a standard specification for safety data sheets and SDS follows a 16 section format. SDS contains information such as the properties of each chemical; the physical, health and environmental hazards, safety precautions and protective measures for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical. It guides the user for each specific chemical on things such as: First aid procedures Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Spill clean-up procedures Laboratories, facilities, research institutes or shops that use chemicals must obtain an SDS that is specific to each chemical used in the workplace. SDSs can be stored electronically or as paper copies. SDSs are prepared for each chemical having both hazardous and non-hazardous nature. SDSs are prepared for both substance and mixtures. eSDS is known as Extended Safety Data Sheet: The updated SDS after 16 section is called extended Safety Data Sheet or eSDS. eSDS includes information on different Exposure scenarios. An ‘Exposure Scenario’ is the set of conditions, including operational conditions and risk management measures, which describe how the substance is manufactured or used during its life-cycle and how the manufacturer or importer controls, or recommends downstream users to control, exposures of humans and the environment. A relevant exposure scenario should be included as annex to the safety data sheet of a substance when a company in the supply chain has carried out a chemical safety assessment under REACH. eSDS is prepared only for Hazardous substances. eSDS is only required for substances that are sold in quantities of more than 10 tonnes per year and are classified as hazardous. Do you want to learn more about being compliant SDS regulations? Talk to our Global Compliance Specialists today!