Your right about the chip makers, Rob. Unfortunately, the head start on compliance with ROHS didn't extend to some of the high-end embedded board makers, such as those producing single-board computers. There compliance and even understanding the details of the regulations, were all over the map. It took a couple of years for that part of the industry to sort things out.
The electronics industry did quite a good job of complying with RoHS. for one thing, the industry had a multi-year jump on the problem. Big suppliers like TI was fully in compliance years before the rules took affect. Major distributors such as Avnet, Arrow and Newark were able to quickly guarantee they could fill customer BOMs with compliant parts. It became a competitive issue among suppliers. That took a lot of the pain out of RoHS for the OEMs.
@Beth and @Dave, I don't wish to start a "Compliance is Evil" war, but I honestly do not know the purpose of the "dramatic changes" in compliance discussed in this article. I teach Systems Thinking to project managers and I am a devote of the Wharton School's late Russel Ackoff and this "Purposeful Systems". I would quickly support a massive regulatory push to document an industry that was producing dangerous products using environmentally-destructive processes. However, your article describes how Schneider Electric had 12 months to document 60,000 system components to remain in compliance with Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) regulations and avoid the loss of $600 Million in revenue. Schneider was able to "convert its entire product portfolio to meet its RoHS deadline and avoid any revenue loss."
This statement leads me to conclude that the entire supply chain involved with the $600 Million product line was not in any violation of the RoHS regulations. From a Systems Thinking perspective, what was the Purpose of the RoHS regulations? Did the authorities have reason to suspect that 80% of the products were Hazardous? 60%? 40%? 10%? 5%? If after compliance, 0% were found to be hazardous, of what purpose is the RoHS? What of the secondary Systemic consequences of less capital available for use on new research and product development? The building of new factories? The Discovery of New Business Opportunities and Customers?
I am all for Agile product and software development. But I'm leery of Agile Regulatory Development. Kudos to Schneider for developing an innovative electronic compliance system to address RoHS. One of the primary tenets of Systems Thinking is an awareness of the Change of Game. What is an appropriate level of effort to be consumed by regulatory affairs? After electronic compliance systems are adopted industry-wide, what are the next challenges in compliance to be met?
Thanks for the reference, Dave. I think approaching this from a systems thinking point of view makes a lot of sense. Not only does it give you that ecosystem perspective at a macro level, but also on a micro level, thinking about how parts are both assembled and disassembled when it comes to end of life.
It's good that these tools are out there. As the article points out, though, it's even more important to train engineers to start thinking about products from a life cycle perspective in the first place.
A good engineering education should train us in systems thinking, so it's just another step to apply this to environmental sustainability. If you have the mental tools to think about how a component fits into a subassembly and how a subassembly fits into a product, then you already have the mental tools to think about how a product (and the processes needed to manufacture it) fits into an ecosystem. MIT has a course called Systems Perspectives on Industrial Ecology, available on OpenCourseWare, which I found very useful. I would urge anyone who is interested in this topic to check it out.
As a matter of fact, there are many interesting engineering courses on OpenCourseWare, some with full video lectures. This includes a course by Dr. Ken Russell, who used to write Design News' "Calamaties" column. For those of us who didn't have the good fortune and/or financial resources to go to MIT, it's an incredible resource.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
4 
