The German Supply Chain Act, REACH, the SCIP database, RoHS and other laws affect all industries

Weilrod, December 15, 2022 — The number of legal requirements for products is increasing as sustainability, environmental protection, and social responsibility are becoming ever more important. Most companies want to meet these requirements but need more time and personnel to do so. The tasks involved in setting up responsible and comprehensive materials compliance processes are diverse and can pose major challenges for many companies. “Supply chains are very complex in our globalized world and different laws often apply in different countries,” explains Magdalena Georgi, Managing Director of imds professional. “We help companies from a wide range of industries gain a broad overview of the issues. We also help them develop the necessary expertise and can take much of the burden off their shoulders through our range of support services.” The training and consulting company imds professional, based in Weilrod/Taunus, has just published its training program for the first half of 2023. This includes courses on numerous topics such as the Supply Chain Act, IMDS, REACH, the SCIP database, RoHS, conflict minerals, biocides, CAMDS, and CDX.

Materials reporting systems

Since the introduction of the European End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Regulation in 2000, the automotive industry has had a system in place to collect and share all data relating to the composition of a vehicle and its components throughout the supply chain. Among other things, the International Material Data System—IMDS for short—makes it easier to recycle and reuse end-of-life vehicles and their components. This also enables the automotive industry to use the available data to meet other regulatory requirements such as REACH, reporting to the SCIP database and even the new German Supply Chain  Act. A similar system called CAMDS (China Automotive Material Data System) is used in China for vehicles sold or components used in the Chinese market.

The Compliance Data eXchange (CDX) is another data management solution that can be used by all other industries. The system allows companies in the manufacturing sector to collect, analyze, and process all the data they need to meet their material compliance obligations. They can track exactly which substances are contained in a given item and share this information online with authorities or customers. This enables companies to accurately and legally comply with international environmental regulations such as REACH, RoHS, California Proposition 65 (CP65), Aerospace and Defence Declarable Substances List (AD-DSL), IRSL, China RoHS, WEEE, battery and packaging regulations, End-of-Life Vehicle Directive (ELV Directive), Proposition 65, HKC, and conflict minerals regulations.

Internationally recognized IMDS certification courses

From March 2023, imds professional will be offering the IMDS Expert (cert.) and IMDS Officer (cert.) certification courses. “We developed these courses together with representatives from DXC Technology, OEMs, and Tier 1 suppliers. They are designed to further improve data quality in the IMDS,” Magdalena Georgi explains. “Only well-trained employees can ensure that companies are carrying out their materials reporting correctly and that data sheets are accepted.”  This is important because rejections create more work and cost businesses more time and money. This can have a significant impact on competitive success because companies that do not comply with legal or customer requirements—often due to a lack of knowledge—can end up losing out on orders.

Top reviews for imds professional’s online courses

The training courses planned for the first half of 2023 will take place online. In fact, imds professional was providing online courses before the pandemic began. “Fortunately, the changeover wasn’t that difficult for us, which meant we were able to continue running our training courses during the lockdowns,” Magdalena Georgi explains. “Most companies are convinced of the advantages of having their employees trained online due to the cost and travel time savings they can make.” The courses have been well received by course participants as the following feedback shows: “The instructor clearly knew the subject matter extremely well and guided us through the training materials in a warm and relaxed way.” “I found your level of knowledge and expertise to be really outstanding.” “The technology worked perfectly and the instructor was able to answer all questions individually.”

Magdalena is also proud of the reputation imds professional has earned across the industry for its knowledge of materials compliance. “We also like to pass on our expertise at presentations we give at events run by leading industry associations. For example, this year our experts delivered presentations at the Fraunhofer Expert Forum and at the American Automobile Association (AIAG) conference.” Companies looking for exclusive in-house training or associations looking for experts to give presentations on material compliance topics can contact the team at imds professional directly or find out more information at www.imds-professional.com.

About imds professional:

imds professional provides a range of solutions to help companies remain in full control of their materials and product compliance obligations. We offer three core services: consulting, support, and training. These services can be customized to ensure your company fully complies with all types of environmental legislation, directives, and guidelines. Our unbiased, targeted advice, customized services, and training courses ensure you remain competitive in the face of increasing regulatory requirements. Small to medium-sized operations and businesses throughout the world from the manufacturing and processing sector have been relying on our expertise since 1999. Further information can be found on www.imds-professional.com