Strategic alliance forms to promote environmental compliance

Englewood, CO—IHS and Foresite Systems Ltd have formed a strategic alliance to deliver a comprehensive offering for Hazmat and environmental compliance. Effort is aimed at helping manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment comply with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives and other restricted substance requirements worldwide.

By Control Engineering Staff August 23, 2005

Englewood, CO — IHS and Foresite Systems Ltd have formed a strategic alliance to deliver a comprehensive offering for Hazmat and environmental compliance. Effort is aimed at helping manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment comply with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives and other restricted substance requirements worldwide.

Companies not in compliance with RoHS, which takes effect July 1, 2006, risk the ability to sell and distribute products into the European Union. To meet RoHS compliance deadlines, manufacturers must build products using compliant parts and components, whether OEM or from suppliers, in their design and production processes. RoHS imposes restrictions on the amount of six hazardous substances present till now in electrical and electronic equipment. These include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated byphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ether. WEEE directives deal with waste management, reuse, and recovery and become effective this month. (August 2005).

The alliance lets electrical and electronic manufacturers obtain critical information and tools needed for compliance from one source. IHS offers what is said to be one of the largest collections of parts data containing hazardous material information. Foresite’s RoHS-WEEE.Net software provides enterprise reporting and analysis tools that help companies prove compliance. Manufacturers of electronic and electrical equipment must document compliance of parts and components. Proof is required in the form of formal metrics, procedures, and systems.

Control Engineering Daily News Desk,Jeanine Katzel, senior editor jkatzel@reedbusiness.com