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What do you do ?

What do you do ?

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All, We are a contract manuf. for electronics. Since c... - Sep 14, 2006 by

We're guessing you are not the RoHS police. On one hand, yo... - Sep 14, 2006 by davef

you as a contract manufacturer are not responsible for your ... - Sep 14, 2006 by RDR

As Russ said, you aren't responsible for your customers prod... - Sep 14, 2006 by

Thanks for the replies guys, I usually dont hide my ident... - Sep 14, 2006 by

Are you a big CM ($1 billion)? If so, your company probably... - Sep 14, 2006 by

"due diligence" could come into play here. Read the attac... - Sep 14, 2006 by

Steve is right, why risk cross contamination and suffer real... - Sep 14, 2006 by Real Chunks

I'd say you build as they ask but you must have written conf... - Sep 14, 2006 by

Dear ???, The verbage on your customer's PO or contract f... - Sep 22, 2006 by

#43928

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

All,

We are a contract manuf. for electronics.

Since changeover to RoHS we still have customers due to one thing or the other telling us to run Non-RoHS. They are not exempt. What do we do ? do we tell them that we are not running their boards and risk loosing the business or continue to run non-rohs !

I have at all times made sure we receive written confirmation from them instructing us so we will have a paper trail incase something crops up further down the line.

One example : Bom is rohs compliant but they never changed board finish ( currently HASL). should I run thru RoHS Process or why bother as the product will not be rohs compliant?

Has anyone else got issues like this?

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davef

#43930

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

We're guessing you are not the RoHS police. On one hand, your customer knows their business better than you do. On the other hand, getting all the issues with RoHS correct is complicated. So, maybe this was an oversight.

Consider telling your customer that their kit is not RoHS compliant. If your customer acknowledges that it is not compliant, but asks you to continue, request a signed waiver note to that effect from your customer.

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RDR

#43933

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

you as a contract manufacturer are not responsible for your customers product. If you are not selling to them under false pretense of RoHS compliance you are fine, it will be your customer that is non-compliant.

So if you build a board that is non RoHS, then do not say it to your customer. Do not apply any labels that signify such.

Russ

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Steve

#43934

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

As Russ said, you aren't responsible for your customers product being ROHS if they didn't request it be built as such. As a CM we build what the customer requests. If they request a ROHS board and supply us with a ROHS bom, but ask for a HASL board, we would contact them and recommend a ROHS finish. Has your facility been entirely converted to run ROHS only? I'd then be concerned about the possiblity of cross contamination if you've removed lead from your facility entirely (if that's even possible!). Good luck.

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#43935

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

Thanks for the replies guys,

I usually dont hide my identity but you can understand my reasons.

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Al Czervik

#43938

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

Are you a big CM ($1 billion)? If so, your company probably has a legal department. I would consult with the company's legal department on this.

I'd be very, very nervous with nothing in writing (a waiver that they are aware that their product is non-RoHS) FROM the customer themselves.

Down the road, if anything bad happens, the it's human nature to always blame the people building the product. (ie Manufacturing is always the scapegoat).

Take a lesson in history from one of the most famous scapegoats in history... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Boisjoly

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#43939

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

"due diligence" could come into play here.

Read the attached webpage from the UK enforcers! http://www.rohs.gov.uk/content.aspx?id=7

aj...

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Real Chunks

#43940

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

Steve is right, why risk cross contamination and suffer real legal battles from your RoHS customers you guarantee lead free to.

Al is also right. If your customer knows they are pulling the wool over the RoHS watchful eyes, why would you want to get tangled in their mess. Unless you get something in writing that is legally binding, do not do it. If they will not give you something in writing that is legally binding, then they are trying to get away with something illegal, and yes you can go down the tubes with them.

Hey Al, is Doctor Wang still with you? If so ask him about the free bowl of soup he got for buying his hat! NO OFFENSE!

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dougs

#43942

What do you do ? | 14 September, 2006

I'd say you build as they ask but you must have written confirmation of what they wish you to do. One thing to remember is that it's not illegal to make non rohs compliant products, it's only illegal to sell them in certain markets, your not to know where your customer plans to sell their goods, thats their business and their responsibility.

Dougs

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MFG CAVEMAN

#44126

What do you do ? | 22 September, 2006

Dear ???,

The verbage on your customer's PO or contract for business is what would be at issue in a (gulp) litigation situation.

If you customer is specifying a RoHS compliant assembly in their PO or contract reference and is not allowing you to follow through, stop now and get this resolved. If you have evidence that the customer is preventing you from complying yet contractually is obligating you to do so, save this and talk to your legal dept.

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