Distribution: give RoHS its due diligence.

After the European Union's (EU) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive takes effect July 1, 2006, OEMs sending products to EU countries could easily find themselves in a position where they need to demonstrate that they are in compliance. There are indications that some of the non-governmental environmental groups that initially lobbied for the RoHS legislation will challenge the compliance of products to ensure RoHS regulations actually keep hazardous substances out of electrical and electronic products. Manufacturers may also start contesting their competitors' products.

One complication is that there is no common approach among the EU countries as to what constitutes an offense under the legislation, and there never may be one. That is left up to the individual member state. Some countries have deemed the very act of putting non-compliant products on the market as a strict liability offense, while others require that some element of negligence must be shown. In spite of these differing views, all agree that it is the producers of finished goods that have to demonstrate compliance to European governmental bodies.

Due Diligence Requirements

Currently, the UK is the only EU country to include a "due diligence" defense in its local legislation. Put in a RoHS context, due diligence requires that a producer has taken "all reasonable steps" to assure compliance. While "reasonable steps" will only be clear once actual cases have been tried, the National Weight and Measures Laboratory (NWML), who will be enforcing RoHS in the UK, interprets that to mean more than simply accepting certificates of compliance at face value. They have stated that there needs to be a risk assessment of the quality of that information.

Whether or not the rest of the EU countries will follow the UK's lead is debatable, although the European Information Communications Technology Association (a trade association similar to the Electronics Industry Association in the US) recently proposed a "due diligence approach" toward the enforcement of RoHS. Under its proposal, a company has presumption of conformance, but documentation would be required in case the product's compliance is contested.

Taking Precaution

A due diligence process is no small matter to implement, especially for smaller, resource-strapped manufacturers. In broad strokes, an OEM ("the producer") needs to look at the way in which it controls its production and material supply, and put in place a series of checks to prevent any problems from occurring. OEMs then need to ensure that the system of checks works and that they can prove it works. Detailed documentation should be kept at the ready, and the OEM should be seen as having processes for vetting their suppliers. This is not the time to venture into the "grey market." No matter how alluring the promises of fast availability and low prices, use only well-known, reputable suppliers.

Due Diligence Principles

Design engineers rarely think of distributors to provide them with the support and documentation they need to be able to deliver finished products into the EU with a high degree of confidence in the status of the parts they purchase. However, in response to the UK's interpretation, Newark InOne, along with its sister European distributor Farnell InOne designed a RoHS Quality Assurance Policy based on these due diligence principles:

All RoHS compliant parts are physically segregated from non-compliant parts at the distributor's warehouse. Newark InOne assigns unique stock numbers for each RoHS compliant part, even if the manufacturer does not change its part number, to be sure customers can track compliant products in their system. RoHS data is collected from the manufacturers and compared to product datasheets and other sources for accuracy. The company rates its manufacturers using a risk assessment process that evaluates the quality of the compliance information it provides. This is a dynamic process, and manufacturers will be reassessed at regular intervals and/or when an event triggers a need for reassessment. Manufacturer quality risk designations for each supplier are compiled for quick reference and access for internal use.

Newark InOne verifies the reliability of the RoHS data it receives, and may ask manufacturers for additional conformance statements and independent test results, or even conduct third-party tests. Upon receipt of the parts, their markings are inspected to make sure that they conform to the compliance information in the database. If a discrepancy is found, the manufacturer is contacted to resolve the issue. If that part is found to be non-RoHS compliant, they may also advise any customer who purchased the part after the date it was originally flagged as RoHS compliant.

With no control over manufacturing processes, we feel this is the maximum level of compliance assurance that any distributor can provide for its customers.

Paul Tallentire is President, Newark InOne. For more information, visit www.newarkinone.com/rohs or call 1-800-4-NEWARK (463-9275).

by Paul Tallentire, Newark InOne

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Title Annotation:	INDUSTRY FOCUS
Author:	Tallentire, Paul
Publication:	ECN-Electronic Component News
Date:	Apr 1, 2006
Words:	798
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