| See also: Impact
Assessments
Following fours years of successfully delivering comprehensive
RoHS WEEE Impact Assessments, our consultants have listened
carefully to thousands of smaller OEM’s and developed
a complementary new service called Scope Validator.
Since the enforcement of RoHS, it has become increasingly
apparent that many smaller and medium sized manufacturers
are wrongly categorising themselves with regard to RoHS (2002/95/EC)
and WEEE (2002/96/EC) Directives.
In response to this common misinterpretation, Scope Validator
has very clear and simple objectives:
- to accurately define precisely which WEEE category your
products fit within, revealing whether they fall within
the scope of the RoHS Directives (2002/95/EC) using all
available evidence and guidance from the Commission, Governments
and industry bodies, Directives, Commission Decisions and
allied community legislation
- to assess if any legitimate exemptions apply, and provide
the evidence necessary to support their application
- provide a clear and legislatively accurate Declaration
of Conformity, specific to your products and their application
In smaller organisations, without the manpower or budget
to provide full time environmental support, it is often left
to non-specialist purchasing or quality functions to determine
whether a product falls within the scope of RoHS, WEEE or
both Directives. This decision making process can be complex
when one considers the ambiguous nature of the legislation
especially where specialist non-consumer equipment is concerned.
|
|
However, incorrect assessment
could have serious implications on producers, if they are
relying on inaccurate or an incomplete assessment of their
equipment:
- Often, companies will claim an exemption that simply doesn’t
apply to their products, typically in the form of a ‘fixed
installation’ or a non-exclusive military application.
- Other organisations have adopted exempt WEEE category
9 classification, where the inclusive category 3 more accurately
reflects the products principal function (or visa versa).
- It is not uncommon for some producers to be feverishly
working towards compliance when they simply don’t
need to, as a partial, less obvious, exemption will remove
any remaining source of non-conformity.
- There is a common misinterpretation that network and telecommunications
infrastructure equipment are exempt from both RoHS and WEEE
Directives. Whilst an exemption exists for lead (Pb) in
the solder (RoHS 5/6), the equipment must comply in all
other respects with the legislation.
If you have yet to define precisely where, if at all, your
products fit within the scope of RoHS and WEEE Directives,
or you simply need a second opinion from independent experts
to validate your legislative arguments and positioning, RoHS
Validator can provide a quick and cost effective solution.
The service is performed by senior consultants, who have been
providing complex RoHS and WEEE interpretation to thousands
of international blue chip organisations since 2002.
To find out more, speak directly and in confidence with a
consultant on +44 (0)845 1000 251, or contact
us.
|
|
+44
(0)845 1000 251