IPC Blog

Time 2020-07-07 09:04:37

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IPC and ITI Convene Experts and Members to Examine Critical Environmental Requirements forElectronics June 17, 2020 4:14 pm Kelly Scanlon, IPC director of environment, health and safety policy and researchLast Tuesday, June 9, IPC partnered with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) to offer an educational conference for the electronics sector on critical environmental requirements. Previous conferences entailed a cross-country roadshow including stops in multiple cities from the East to West coasts. Due to the pandemic, this year’s event was held via webinar, and the participation level was strong!In all, we hosted 90 attendees, 12 speakers, and four sponsors from 25 states and 10 countries, who learned about:• The “Circular Economy” strategy;• The U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA);• The European Commission’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive;• The Substances of Concern in Products (SCIP) database;• IPC and other industry standards for electronics and the environment; and• Novel approaches for product sustainability and COVID-19 response.The conference speakers represented government and industry experience, including:• William Neale, from the Directorate-General for Environment within the European Commission;• Susanna Blair and Ryan Schmit from the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;• Steve Andrews, currently with a global solutions provider in supply chain management and the former Deputy Head of the Resources Waste Team in the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); and• Walter Jager, an environmental compliance provider and leader in standards development for IEC, ISO, IPC, IEEE, NSF, UL, and CSA.Attendees also had the chance to engage with the event sponsors: Anthesis/The Compliance Map; Gensuite; GreenSoft Technology; and iPoint. This year, the sponsors doubled as speakers during five-minute “sponsor takeovers” during which subject matter experts from the sponsoring companies engaged directly with the audience in short, informative presentations – kind of like high-intensity intervals that kept attendees engaged and pumped. Kudos to Marc Church, Anne Barr, Brian Ahlers, Randy Flinders, and Donavan Hornsby for their creative presentations.This year, we also increased our social media presence. IPC, ITI, event sponsors, and speakers used Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to advertise and share news about the event with a large, global audience.The key takeaways included policy themes that reflect our daily work to engage with industry and government colleagues on critical environmental requirements for electronics.These themes include:• Consideration of the product life cycle. The chemicals and materials that are critical at each stage of an electronic product’s life-cycle require industry to have end-to-end data and information throughout the supply chain. The TSCA risk evaluations for high-priority substances and the requirements for the SCIP database are real-time examples of how we need to frame our understanding of conditions of use and the risks to human health and the environment in each stage.• Data. Data and information about the chemicals and materials that make up electronic products are more important than ever to sound decision making and policy creation. We need to consider how to improve our abilities to collect, manage, present, and communicate data within industry and to policy makers.• Standards can help industry and government. Ecodesign, ecolabel, and materials declaration standards enable industry to identify the data and information that are useful in design choices, circularity objectives, and end-of-life management options. These standards can be used to meet reporting requirements that will enable the circular economy goals.• Policies as instruments for change. RoHS continues to evolve even as we see new policies and requirements emerging, such as the various chemical and product strategies under the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan. We need to stay engaged.• Communication. We are remiss if we do not work together to nurture partnerships among supply chain members and between industry and government. Industry and government can engage through public comments, stakeholder meetings, site visits, and/or less formal meetings that aim to build trust and shared goals.While it is the responsibility of every company to understand the environmental requirements that apply to them, IPC will continue to be your educational resource and your advocate. To learn more about IPC’s policy and research work in the area of environment, health, and sustainability, please e-mail me at KellyScanlon@ipc.org or subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter. IPC Offers Opportunities for OnlineLearning June 4, 2020 4:45 pm IPC offers many opportunities for online learning, providing relevant education to meet the needs of the industry, from operators to engineers and executives. Events Connection (EC) editorial staff talked to Carlos Plaza, IPC director of education development, about how IPC chooses which courses will benefit the industry, and what options are available for students this summer.EC: How do you decide what online courses to create?CP: We work closely with the industry to identify skill gaps and learning opportunities. We learn directly from subject matter experts in the electronics industry about what their employees need to know to do their jobs efficiently. We develop courses with subject matter experts in the electronics industry, but we also include instructional designers on our team to ensure we are using best practices in our instruction. Students get the best of both worlds, industry experts and education experts.EC: How do instructional designers contribute to course creation?CP: The education team develops the scope and sequence of the course, interactive activities, and assessments. Essentially, they build the learning modules with excellent input from industry experts, internal IPC experts, and our technical team.EC: How is online learning at IPC unique?CP: We have very skilled instructors. They provide students not only with the broad concepts of a subject, but how to utilize those skills in a way that is applicable to their job immediately. They are experts in the field, and they provide invaluable instruction helping our students transfer what they learn online into real life situations.EC: What’s happening in IPC Education this summer?CP: IPC is offering several online, instructor-led courses this summer for a wide variety of job functions and skill levels. Contracting with the Customer is what every EMS executive should know about contracts when dealing with OEMs and other EMS companies. This course is a huge value that is taught by two attorneys working in the electronics manufacturing sector.We have another section of PCB Defect Analysis and Troubleshooting that started on June 2. This course is led by industry veteran, Mike Carano, a bona fide expert on troubleshooting PCBs. For some quick insight into Mr. Carano’s expertise check out his recent article in PCB007.We offer a really in-depth series of courses in PCB Design starting June 16 – The upcoming course, Design 1 focuses on the schematic capture of the design with in-depth explorations of PCB design software. PCB Design 2 focuses more on PCB layout. Plus we’re launching our next PCB Design course that will focus on Advanced packaging (Rigid Boards). More courses are in development like Design for Manufacturability (DFM). We hope to make these available in the third quarter.In July there’s an opportunity to earn an IPC Certification in Electronics Program Management. Do you have managers that need to boost their business knowledge? This certification leverages real-world examples specific to the electronics industry to help teach program managers to make the right business decisions in concert with the right technical decisions. New IPC Video Explains Electronics Manufacturing’s Importance in Evocative, People-Centered Language andImagery June 2, 2020 1:35 pm A new video from IPC,  shows viewers the many ways “our lives and our communities depend on electronics” and invites them to learn more about “the crucial industry that’s at the heart of the modern world.”The 90-second video features a series of evocative vignettes in which electronics-based devices and systems are making people’s lives safer, healthier, more connected, secure, and fun. The video also demystifies electronics technology by comparing it to the workings of a lightbulb and showing animations of the hard wiring inside consumer devices. The video is free of technical jargon and aims to help tech-centric IPC connect on a gut level with non-industry audiences such as policymakers and educators.“We want people to take notice of things they’ve always taken for granted and be more curious about this critically important industrial sector,” said Chris Mitchell, IPC vice president of global government relations. “Part of our job in representing the industry is helping people understand what we do and why it matters, and this video is an effort to do that in language and pictures that will resonate with everyone.”IPC will promote the video to targeted audiences in a campaign spanning YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail newsletters, online presentations, and in-person meetings. IPC members are being encouraged to share it with their coworkers, friends, families, elected officials, and local educators and community leaders.IPC’s embrace of a more people-centered message began last year with its award-winning “Start with the Standards” campaign, which linked IPC’s industry standards program with images of “those who mean the world to us,” including a baby in an incubator; a child in car seat; and a man in an MRI machine.Most recently, IPC published new data showing that the electronics manufacturing sector supports more than 5.3 million American jobs, pays above-average compensation, and provides critical equipment and inputs to other key sectors including healthcare, transportation, and aerospace. Deadline Extended for TSCA Fees Rule Self-Identification Obligation May 27, 2020 6:55 am by Kelly Scanlon, director, environment, health and safety policy researchIPC has posted on February 26 and March 26 regarding industry’s responsibility to determine if they are obligated to pay fees to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2020 to support risk evaluations of 20 high-priority chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Comments were due today, May 27, but the EPA is extending the comment and reporting period on the preliminary lists of manufacturers and importers subject to fees. The new date will be Monday, June 15.The EPA is extending the comment period to allow companies additional time to self-identify as to whether they are a manufacturer that is subject to the Fees Rule. This also provides time for those who are incorrectly listed on the preliminary lists to use the Chemical Data Exchange (CDX) system to remove the company’s listing.The EPA intends to publish the final list of companies obligated to pay fees concurrently with the final scope documents for the 20 high-priority chemical substances. IPC will continue to monitor the status of the scope documents to track whether the EPA will defer the publication of the final documents or defer fee payments, two requests that have been made by both NGOs and industry. Point of contact: Kelly Scanlon. Coronavirus and Supply Chains DisruptionPanel May 5, 2020 6:49 am Join us today, May 5 Coronavirus and Supply Chains Disruption PanelBroadcast at: 7:45 am PCT, 10:45 am EST, 3:45 pm BST and 4:45 pm CETCOVID-19 has caused severe supply chain disruptions and has affected almost every facet of our daily lives. What will the landscape look like after this disease passes and how will the electronics manufacturing industry adjust to mitigate the risk in the future.Panel guests include:Register Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Join 412 other followers How can EMS company executives contract with an OEM or other customers more effectively? Find out with “Contracting… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 18hoursago

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