Most companies not ready to prove RoHS compliance

A study that went out to hundreds of manufacturers in the electronics industry finds that most companies are not ready to prove they’ve done their due diligence in complying with the European Union’s RoHS laws that went into effect on July 1. Arena Solutions, a Foster City, Calif. product lifecycle management company that helps manufacturers prepare due diligence data, queried hundreds of manufacturers on their readiness to prove they have implemented controls to assure RoHS compliance.

Almost 60 percent of respondents said they did not have a good understanding of the regulations or how to demonstrate compliance and due diligence. That same percentage is not confident that they can track all parts and materials in their products and produce a compliance record. A surprising 73 percent do not have sufficient controls and documentation around change management, compliance verification of incoming parts and a closed-loop process for non-conforming materials. And 63 percent recognize that their current solutions to track compliance will not scale for multiple regulations.