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62 SMT Magazine • December 2014 This trend can be temporarily avoided or delayed, but inevitably the industry is facing a future where partners and consumers will de- mand to know more about a product's origins, contents, and whereabouts. The following regulatory initiatives are ad- mittedly environmentally focused. As such, what are the implications for quality enterprise barcodes tied to core applications? The point is this: The information required by these rules, directives, guidelines and regulations is not go- ing to be managed at a desk using a notepad and a three-drawer manual filing cabinet sys- tem. Not, at least, for electronics manufacturers who hope to survive and thrive in this second decade of the 21 st century. Electronic data systems tied to product la- beling solutions are going to capture, follow, measure, evaluate, track, and monitor the re- quired information. For a long time to come, standards-based traditional and 2D barcodes will indisputably remain at the center of estab- lishing and managing a product's identity and all of its various characteristics. These directives, rules and regulations in- clude: The RoHS Regulation (Directive 2002/95/ EC) and RoHS II: EU Member States shall en- sure that new electrical and electronic equip- ment put on the market does not contain any of the six banned substances: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, poly-bromi- nated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated di- phenyl ethers (PBDE), in quantities exceeding maximum concentration values. The WEEE Directive: Together with the RoHS Directive, WEEE sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods. The ErP Directive 2009/125/EC (For- merly EuP): This European directive establish- es a framework under which manufacturers of energy-using products (EuP) will, at the design stage, be obliged to reduce the energy consump- tion and other negative environmental impacts that occur during the product's life cycle. The Packaging Directive: This directive aims to harmonize national measures in order to prevent or reduce the impact of packaging and packaging waste on the environment. It contains provisions on the prevention of pack- aging waste, on the re-use of packaging and on the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. The CE Mark: This is a mandatory confor- mance mark on many products placed on the market in Europe to ensure the product con- forms to EC directives. IPC-1752: This is an IPC materials declara- tion management standard for material decla- ration forms and electronic data exchange for- mats to facilitate electronic reporting for suppli- ers and customers along the electronics supply chain. The Electronic Industry Code of Con- duct: This is a set of best practices adopted and implemented by some of the world's ma- jor electronics and telecommunications brands and their suppliers to implement a single sup- ply chain social responsibility code of conduct in the sector. Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM): GSCM has been adopted as a proac- tive strategy by leading electronics industry companies, including Dell, HP, IBM, Motorola, Sony, Panasonic, NEC, Fujitsu, and Toshiba. It represents a proactive approach for improving the environmental performance of processes and products in accordance with the require- ments of environmental regulations. How bad can bad Get? The following should be cut and pasted, or cut and posted, at the end of every electronics manufacturing line, every warehouse, every dis- tribution center, and even every executive suite. It is a list of the eight most common bad out- comes that can occur from labeling errors and derived from more than two decades of experi- ence in manufacturing labeling mishaps: 1. Mislabeling and related data errors The wrong label or a label with incorrect or incomplete data typically sidetracks the prod- uct, often in distribution centers, until the problem can be identified and corrected. Deliv- ery deadlines can be missed, inventory carrying costs can soar, or worse, products that linger too long can become obsolete. HIGH-reLIAbILITY, Pb-Free, HALOGeN-Free SOLder continues ArTiClE