RoHS and WEEE Responsibilities in a Company

[wrensch]

Hello everyone. I was just wondering where the reponsiblity for WEEE/RoHS compliance ends up in other companies. Is it Quality, Engineering, Marketing etc? Thanks!

 

[RosieA]

In companies I've been in, it's resided with Engineering...

 

[wrensch]

In companies I've been in, it's resided with Engineering...

Thanks Warrior Goddess of Quality you are my shero. That is what makes the most sense to me. I'm hoping I can get more replies to validate that.

 

[qusys]

Hello everyone. I was just wondering where the reponsiblity for WEEE/RoHS compliance ends up in other companies. Is it Quality, Engineering, Marketing etc? Thanks!

The best approach to pursue is usually multidisciplinary and you should have a process in place also starting from product and process design and development.
Marketing is also involved because in the technical sheet of the product, which can be also available on a company web site, there is usually reported the indication "RoHS compliance yes".
Quality is also involved to verify that the ISO standards clause regarding this requirement are respected by means of the internal audit.
Engineering as well as Purchasing are other function that are deeply involved , because they use qualified raw material in the product realization process and Purchasing shall acquire material that are compliant with the regulatory and statutory laws.
So , we can say that the organization shall have a process in place to assure that its product is ok with RoHS, assuring the presence of allowed material with related percentage and eliminated banned material. This is an internal process that Marketing shall communicate to the customer with technical sheet. Hope this helps

 

[qusys]

I would also add that the organization that I visited as quality auditor have also in place a process to accept new raw materials ( I intend gas, chemicals etc..) before the internal qualification in the production line.
The material goes into approval following a workflow involving all the functions involved ( R&D, Purchasing, Incoming Quality, Engineering, Safety & Environment). Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) shall be available and these material shall not be banned and have RoHS approval.

 

[wrensch]

The best approach to pursue is usually multidisciplinary and you should have a process in place also starting from product and process design and development.
Marketing is also involved because in the technical sheet of the product, which can be also available on a company web site, there is usually reported the indication "RoHS compliance yes".
Quality is also involved to verify that the ISO standards clause regarding this requirement are respected by means of the internal audit.
Engineering as well as Purchasing are other function that are deeply involved , because they use qualified raw material in the product realization process and Purchasing shall acquire material that are compliant with the regulatory and statutory laws.
So , we can say that the organization shall have a process in place to assure that its product is ok with RoHS, assuring the presence of allowed material with related percentage and eliminated banned material. This is an internal process that Marketing shall communicate to the customer with technical sheet. Hope this helps

This helps a great deal also. We have begun the process of RoHS compliance which right now consists of getting supplier evidence of compliance. Purchasing is driving that right now. Quality is managing the entire project and undertaking the responsibility of identifying the appropriate quality system procedures to include the RoHS requirements. We have planned for Engineering to be engaged only for consult and testing, when required, for replacement of non RoHS compliant parts. Where it gets fuzzy is the repsonibility for preparing and reporting technical data to our customers. From your reply it sounds like it is Marketing which makes sense to me. The other fuzzy area is who is responsible for setting up the relationships with international companies for the registration, reporting and take back of the WEEE? Thank you!

 

[qusys]

This helps a great deal also. We have begun the process of RoHS compliance which right now consists of getting supplier evidence of compliance. Purchasing is driving that right now. Quality is managing the entire project and undertaking the responsibility of identifying the appropriate quality system procedures to include the RoHS requirements. We have planned for Engineering to be engaged only for consult and testing, when required, for replacement of non RoHS compliant parts. Where it gets fuzzy is the repsonibility for preparing and reporting technical data to our customers. From your reply it sounds like it is Marketing which makes sense to me. The other fuzzy area is who is responsible for setting up the relationships with international companies for the registration, reporting and take back of the WEEE? Thank you!

Hi,
appreciated your thanks!
From my experience on the field , the best figure to do so is Environmental and Safety Mgr or his /her representatives , also at Corporate level, depending on your company structure.
This staff should have the competence and the authority to accomplish this.
Another suggestion is to assure this requirement for new product introduction by means of usage of APQP ( Advanced, Product Quality Planning). There are sections where you examine new products issues that you use in your production line. This method is usually used in automotive sectorr and for company ISO TS certified. I do not know if this is your case.
Hope this helps again!

 

[wrensch]

That does make sense. Unfortunately we are a smaller sized company and don't have that department or position (yet). We are growing and maybe this will help identify the need for a new position. Thanks again for your inupt. It is very helpful!

 

[chadwick404]

Does anybody have any process documentation or diagrams they could share to manage the "product stewardship" space? Any SIPOC exercises they could part with? I am embarking on our own organization building and would love to peek at what others do.