| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
With the ever-increasing demands on electrical and electronic products and short life cycles of these products, it is imperative that these products possess minimum risk to human health and the environment during their life cycle. The Restriction of the use of Hazardous Substances Directive of the European Union, RoSH, aims to limit the amount of six hazardous substances used in the manufacturing of many electrical and electronic products. Starting from July 1st 2006, electrical and electronic equipment producers are required to provide document proving that their products are compliant with RoSH.
Enameled wire is used in applications such as winding electric motor coils, transformers, electromagnets and inductors. Almost all electrical and electronic equipment contains components made of enameled wire. Most of the enameled wire use polymer resins as coating material, which makes it a possible candidate of RoSH requirements. This research attempts to analyze the compliance status and approach, taken or to be taken, of enameled wire manufacturers toward RoSH requirements.
A questionnaire survey was utilized to collect the information of the responding enameled wire manufacturers located in Taiwan, Mainland China and Southeast Asia. Questions based on the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard such as financial, customer, learning and growth, and internal business processes were designed to evaluate a company’s attitude and implementation strategy concerning RoSH or green supply chain. The survey results were checked for validity and reliability before being processed using SPSS software.
The results from this research show that the enameled wire manufacturers are subjected to the restriction of the use of hazardous substances arising from the green supply chain requirements. The survey results reveal that the enameled wire manufacturers have different levels of knowledge and understanding of RoSH. Proactive organizations have responded to the EU Directive by participating in the green supply chain of Sony’s Green Partner or by adopting IECQ HSPM QC080000, which applies a systems approach in managing restricted substances. A number of the enameled wire producing companies have expanded their existing ISO 14001 environmental management system or ISO 9001 quality management system to meet RoSH requirements. This research has found that the most proactive companies in the enameled wire business have invested resources in upgrading their internal processes. Results from the Balanced Scorecard illustrate that customers’ demands have the greatest impact on enameled wire manufacturers’ willingness to improve their internal processes.
This research recommends that when facing the challenges of restricted substances control, enameled wire manufacturers should adopt the systems approach such as IECQ HSPM QC080000 or should join the Sony Green Partner program. Manufacturers should also request their suppliers to set up their internal restricted substances control program or request the suppliers to become part of the green supply chain in order to strengthen their restricted substances control capability.
Keywords: RoHS, REACH, Green Supply Chain, IECQ HSPM QC080000, Green Product, Balanced Scorecard, Enameled Wire
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