RoHS: Most suppliers to change part numbers
-- Purchasing, 11/29/2005
About 71% of electronics suppliers globally say they will change part numbers for components that comply with the Restriction on the Use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) law, according to a new survey.
The survey of 500 semiconductor, passives and electromechanical part suppliers was conducted by component management software provider SiliconExpert Technologies in Santa Clara, Calif. Survey results were presented at the recent National Electronic Distributors Association Executive Conference in Chicago. Omar Ahmad, CEO of SiliconExpert Technologies, says it is important for component manufacturers not to change part numbers. "It’s too complicated if they don’t."He notes some component manufacturers plan to make RoHs compliant and non-compliant parts even after the July 2006. Some industries are exempt from RoHS and will continue to use parts that contain lead or some of the other RoHS-banned substances. Ahmad adds that suppliers are getting deluged with requests for certificates of compliance or materials declarations about their parts. "Some companies ask for the same documentation five times," says Ahmad. They may have facilities in different states or countries and the sites don’t share information."Suppliers are overwhelmed with requests from both large and small customers, including electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers, distributors and OEMs," he says. Suppliers are responding more quickly to requests from large customers.He says suppliers report it takes an hour for a supplier to respond to a request for documentation about a part. He says delays occur because "part numbers are not always correct when they come in" and they have to be scrubbed. Ahmad recommends that the industry adopt a global standard for compliance and show compliance by package type rather than part number because many parts use the same type of package.
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