Challenges and methods for standardised legal compliance management in the production of electronics

Legal frameworks that govern usage of substances in electronics manufacturing have been growing in complexity. There is strong interest within the industry for standardization of reporting structures and the streamlining of data exchange procedures. While internationally recognized compliance regulations, standards and company-specific indicators are emerging, their complexity calls for sophisticated data management and legal background knowledge. Companies are struggling to fulfil the multitude of requirements. This paper gives a short overview about the relevant regulations, and summarizes the new standards that have been developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Challenges are identified and interpreted from the view of a practitioner; and a software-supported approach to information management is introduced. This approach allows for automated process management, data exchange and automatic report generation, enabling time-saving across whole business processes.