Electronics Automation

Although 1st July passed off without much of the expected panic, RS is concerned that many UK companies need to do more to achieve compliance with RoHS legislation.
Although 1st July passed off without much of the expected panic, RS is concerned that many UK companies need to do more to achieve compliance with RoHS legislation. The company also welcomes the NWML's moves to ensure that RoHS standards should be enforced equally throughout the region to increase compliance and confidence in products and components. RS is in an excellent position to comment on the RoHS act, as it is the primary supplier to the design community in the UK.

The company has found that although most UK companies have either complied or are close to completion, there are still a significant minority that have adopted a wait-and-see attitude and are either totally unprepared, or are slowly implementing the regulations while watching what is happening elsewhere.

Many of these companies may believe that enforcement officers are not active at the moment and want to see what happens to the first company punished, while praying that it's not them.

Surely it's only a matter of time?

Ignoring the regulations could be far more painful than implementing them.

There is a vast amount of help available, for example, RS has a whole section of its website dedicated to the legislation.

The first step an unsure company should take is to seek advice and determine if compliance is actually necessary, if it is believed that it does not impact the business, the reasoning should be carefully documented for explanation to the NWML.

If the company decides there is a need to comply, it should at first focus on inventory management and lead-free production.

Components should be purchased from trusted suppliers, especially those with the BSI 'RoHS Trusted' kitemark, and then staff should be trained in their own responsibilities.

These steps should also be carefully documented for the NWML as evidence of the company's attempt to comply.

RS' second concern is the lack of a unified approach to enforcement throughout the EU; every member state is responsible for its own enforcement.

This has led to confusion as to which agency is responsible for advice and enforcement in each country.

In the UK the NWML has been given responsibility, and the rules and standards are clear and stated, but this is not the case in most other member states.

That could be the source of the problem for UK companies.

Companies sourcing components manufactured outside of the UK may not have the necessary confidence that they have been subject to the same rigorous examination as those manufactured within the UK, and this could impact the status of the final product.

RS were so concerned about this aspect that the company have invested an ED-XRF machine so it can independently verify offerings and give customers a 'double-assurance' of compatibility, which includes the RoHS kitemark.

'RS still receives daily requests for information on RoHS issues, and the FAQ section of our site shows higher than expected usage, revealing that the subject is still causing concern after the deadline has passed', states Mick Parker, RS' RoHS Project Manager.

He continues: 'One of the main issues we are hearing about is component availability, the situation remaining critical'.

'RS are helping to address this situation with web flags and notification emails to ensure customers are alerted whenever compliant components become available'.

'Other initiatives we have implemented include an 'ask an expert' service and in-house screening of components'.

'Even if your company has not started an RoHS compliance programme, it's not too late, and the help is here too ensure it is not too painful'.