IHS, Foresite in RoHS/WEEE Alliance

The environmental compliance solution from IHS and Foresite enables manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment to 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. The RoHS directive goes into effect on July 1, 2006, and companies not compliant with this mandate risk the ability to sell and distribute products into the European Union, resulting in significant revenue losses. In order to meet RoHS compliance deadlines, manufacturers must begin building products using compliant parts and components - whether OEM or from suppliers - in their design and production processes. "As a result of this alliance, electrical and electronic manufacturers can now obtain all the critical information and tools needed for compliance with European regulations plus other restricted substance requirements worldwide from one trusted source. IHS delivers one of the world's largest collections of parts data containing hazardous material information, while Foresite's RoHS-WEEE.NET software offers superior enterprise reporting and analysis tools that allow companies to prove compliance to EU authorities," said Paul Evenson, senior vice president of parts & solutions, IHS. "In addition, these tools can be integrated into a company's existing infrastructure to enable seamless searching and information retrieval. No other solution on the market today offers the depth, breadth and value that IHS and Foresite can provide." The responsibility of documenting the compliance of parts and components is mandatory and rests with the manufacturers of electronic and electrical equipment. Formal metrics, procedures and systems will be required as proof of compliance. "Having the vital parts data from IHS that contains hazardous material information strengthens the power and value of our RoHS-WEEE.NET compliance software," said Graham Margetson, vice president of sales and marketing, Foresite. "Customers can now gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace over those who cannot meet compliance requirements, by leveraging the tools to ensure compliance and continue selling their products into the European Union. With RoHS, WEEE and other compliance deadlines quickly approaching, companies need this critical information immediately." RoHS imposes restrictions on the amount of six hazardous substances present in electrical and electronic equipment, including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ether. The WEEE directive deals with waste management - specifically waste reuse and recovery - and becomes effective in August of this year.