CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
5 May 2008
Product News
Siemens PLM Software Adds Support for the European Reach Regulation to its Teamcenter Suite
Siemens PLM Software announced it has added support for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, the new European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use, to the integrated compliance management capability of its Teamcenter® software portfolio. Teamcenter enables organizations to streamline the tracking of chemical substances required for REACH compliance by making these requirements an integral part of the product development process.
“We are committed to partnering with our customers to stay one step ahead of evolving regulations like REACH,” said Steve Bashada, vice president of Teamcenter Applications, Siemens PLM Software. “With Teamcenter’s new REACH regulation support, companies can easily collect, compile, aggregate and analyze information describing the chemical constituents of its organization’s products, thus ensuring compliance and avoiding REACH-related supply chain disruptions.”
Holistic approach to compliance management
The REACH regulation was introduced in June 2007. It is considered the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will impact product manufacturers in aerospace, automotive, high-tech and electronics, apparel, and other industries throughout the world. The REACH regulation requires all chemicals that are imported into the European Union in quantities greater than one metric ton per year to be tested for health and safety and registered with the European Chemicals Agency located in Helsinki, Finland. For product manufacturers, this means that some parts and materials they buy may become more costly or restricted based on how they are used in their products. The REACH regulation also restricts the use of so-called substances of very high concern (SVHC) in products. The SVHC list is expected to ultimately include 1,500 to 3,000 substances. The REACH regulation requires companies to be prepared to disclose information about the SVHC in their products within 45 days of the request.
Integrating REACH regulation support into a company’s complete lifecycle process is consistent with Teamcenter’s holistic approach to compliance management. With Teamcenter, REACH regulation requirements can be gathered and tracked up front in the product development process. As the product evolves, Teamcenter tracks substance information from the bill-of-materials (BOM) and generates reports of the quantities of each substance contained in the BOM. Organizations are then able to actively track all substance information as part of the product development process and maintain full traceability of the impact of any changes to the root source as they move forward.
By helping ensure REACH regulation compliance, Teamcenter eliminates the supply chain disruptions, delays and costs associated with compliance management. In addition to its new REACH regulation support, Teamcenter facilitates compliance with a wide range of environmental regulations governing businesses throughout the world including ELV, RoHS and WEEE directives.
REACH support is part of the Teamcenter environmental compliance solution which was developed through a partnership with Synapsis Technology, Inc. The solution is powered by EMARS® software, Synapsis’ industry proven system for environmental compliance management. Synapsis provides supply chain and high-tech electronics industry-specific knowledge and software add-ons that complement the capabilities of Teamcenter.
For more information on Siemens PLM Software’s initiative on environmental sustainability, please go to http://www.siemens.com/teamcenter and select “compliance management.”
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