HP Helps Manufacturers Improve Product Safety and Recycling

HP - Press Releases - February 28, 2013 

HP Helps Manufacturers Improve Product Safety and Recycling 

HP Compliance Data Exchange enables tracking of materials in complex supply chains

BÖBLINGEN, Germany -- Hewlett-Packard GmbH today announced the new HP Compliance Data Exchange (CDX) system , a platform that enables manufacturers in sectors like shipbuilding, aerospace and electronics to eliminate hazardous substances from their products and improve recycling rates.

Based on the HP-hosted International Material Data System (IMDS), which is already delivering measurable results for the automotive industry, HP CDX enables manufacturers to stay ahead of new requirements, plan design improvements and meet the increasing number of globally valid legislative requirements, such as the Hong Kong Convention; the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive; and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of CHemicals (REACH) regulation.

Under a recent agreement, members of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), including Carnival, China Navigation and Maersk, will use HP CDX in several pilot projects to track the manufacturing supply chains of new lines of ships, or significant parts thereof, from tier-one suppliers down to suppliers of base components like screws, electronic components, coatings and paints. The SSI is a coalition of shipping leaders from around the world working to demonstrate that shipping can contribute to—and thrive in—a sustainable future.

“Companies in all industries are increasingly required to reduce the use of hazardous substances in their products and minimize energy and resource waste through more efficient recycling of resources,” said Dirk Schuermann, industry director, HP Enterprise Services. “By collecting, maintaining and analyzing material data across all levels of the supply chain, HP’s CDX can enable participating companies to comply with global legal requirements.”

HP CDX provides a secure, centralized database and application to record and track material usage through complex global supply chains. The web application acts as a venue for information exchange between manufacturers, their suppliers and their suppliers’ suppliers about the substances used in all components. For example, HP CDX makes it possible to prove that an engine within an assembled ship consists of an allowable range of materials and substances. At the same time, it stores information for future recycling to ensure safe disposal.

Using HP CDX, manufacturers and their supply chain can share information securely in real time about all materials present in the final product, helping to eliminate hazardous substances and ensuring that reportable substances are declared for recycling. Instead of each company keeping its own records, the central CDX database is easily accessible, efficient and low cost. It also helps manufacturers build robust, efficient compliance strategies for legislation such as extended producer responsibility (EPR), which requires manufacturers to be financially and legally responsible for the life-cycle impact of their products on the environment.

(Source: www.hp.com)