Swimming With The Green Tide
An interview on the challenges of hazardous materials reduction
with Kirsten L. Koegel, Engineering Project Manager Artesyn Technologies
by Lee H. Goldberg
Introduction
Successfully competing in the global market has always required
a company to be proactive in its business strategies, but recent developments
in Europe and Asia now require the same creativity be applied to environmental
issues as hazardous waste reduction and product recycling enter the business
equation. The so-called RoHS (Reduction of hazardous substances) regulations
being phased in across Europe, Japan, and elsewhere are now pretty much
a fact that manufacturers, designers, and even systems integrators must
ensure that the products they sell in those countries have dramatically-reduced
amounts of lead, other heavy metals and many toxic compounds within the
next year.
While the transition to RoHS compliance can be rocky, several companies have already managed to "come clean" and are ready to do business in the new green global market. Among those pioneers is Artesyn, who recently announced it plans to ship its first RoHS-compliant products in August of 2005, ten months ahead of the July 1, 2006 deadline.
Since Artesyn supplies such a wide variety of electronic products, we were intrigued at how the company managed to make the transition so far ahead of deadline. With a little prodding, we were put in touch with Kirsten Koegel, the project manager for Artesyn's RoHS compliance program. During the course of the interview, we learned about the technical and business implications of such a massive change to a company, and a bit about how Artesyn's foresight allowed them to accomplish such a difficult task so far ahead of deadline. Hopefully, this brief account of Artesyn's accomplishments will help point other companies in the right direction as they seek to achive global eco-compliance.
analogZONE (aZ)
What drives your environmental program? What are the priorities?
Kirsten L Koegel (Artesyn):
The RoHS directive lays out particular hazardous materials which have been identified as keys to reducing the negative impact of electronic waste on human health and the environment. The WEEE directive is focused on reducing the amount of electronic waste, mainly from consumer products which tend to have short lifespans (<5 years) and to encourage the reuse of components and materials from these products, where practical. Generally telecommunications equipment has less of an impact on the electronic waste stream since fewer units are deployed and they have longer lifespans (10 - 15 years), but it must still meet the requirements (although there is an exemption for Pb used in telecom applications).
In light of these realities, Artesyn's priorities are to:
- Meet the requirements of the RoHS and WEEE directives to continue supplying products to the EU
- Set up infrastructure to track, control, and be more mindful of the material content in Artesyn designs
- To establish Pb-free manufacturing capabilities
aZ:
Has your environmental program resulted in the creation or development of important new technologies?
Artesyn:
Not to date.
aZ:
What have been the toughest challenges in implementing the program? The changing interpretations of how to implement the directives and how they are being implemented in each of the member states.
Artesyn:
We've had several big challenges. One of the bigger ones was controlling parts according to their material content, particularly while our suppliers are changing their processes.We also had to learn how to move from a well-developed, reliable Pb-based process to the new Pb-free process. Finally there was the task of finding compliant components for our designs.
aZ:
How does a big company re-tool itself for such fundamental changes without completely disrupting its operations?
Artesyn:
Ah, not an easy task. We're tooling to support both our current process and Pb-free process. We're also focusing on the collection of material content data, integrating this information into our part qualification system, and bringing supply chain up to speed so that we can manage the conversion of parts to new requirements.
aZ:
What is the business case for sustainable development in the computer industry?
Artesyn:
The EU directives and other legislation in California, China, etc are forcing the issue. Basically, a company won't be able to sell into these markets unless they meet the requirements. As the world markets drive the demand for RoHS compliant materials and components, it will be more difficult for companies to source Pb-based components.
aZ:
Is there a need for a coordinated, industry-wide effort to improve its environmental performance?
Artesyn:
It would certainly help to establish standards, particularly for ensuring reliability.
aZ:
Does this country need a national recycling program, framework, or legislation for computer product disposal? How do the proposed WEPSI or NEPSI regulations affect Dell, and what are their pros and cons?
Artesyn:
Certainly any intiative that reduces waste and pollution in the US is valuable. WEPSI & NEPSI are focused on consumer electronics right now, but our work for RoHS and WEEE should help us in addressing these regulations as well.
aZ:
How are the European WEEE regulations affecting Artesyn's design, manufacturing, and supply chain strategies?
Artesyn:
WEEE is having very little impact in these areas right now.
aZ:
What have been the economic impacts of these environmental initiatives, both short- and long-term?
Artesyn:
Short term we're spending money to establish a material content database, set up Pb-free manufacturing, and transition our component inventories. Long-term is unclear at the moment.
aZ:
Has implementing this program provided any opportunities for reducing operational costs?
Artesyn:
Yes, because we are looking at each of our product lines for future viability, and no, because we are required to support two manufacturing processes (Pb and Pb-free), a lot of new parts, and business system and process changes to track all the new information. Overall the timeframe doesn't allow us to focus on reducing operational costs.
aZ:
Will what Artesyn is doing to comply with the European RoHs and WEEE regulations be applied to its US operations?
Artesyn:
Presumably, you mean our US customers? Our products will comply with RoHS and WEEE, unless a customer requests a specific customization that does not meet these requirements.
aZ:
What's ahead for Artesyn environmental program?
Artesyn:
Getting RoHS and WEEE under our belts.