The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is expanding its REACH regulatory-compliance training program to help the industry comply with Conflict Minerals and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) rules.

“Because members are requesting REACH and RoHS data at the same time from suppliers, they would like to offer training on both at the same time as well; members are also requesting Conflict Minerals training for both internal staff and their supply chains,” stated John Wagner, AEM director materials management. 

Doing business with Europe

AEM recently rolled out its exclusive industry-focused AEM Market Access Pathway (MAP) training platform for manufacturers and their suppliers. All companies selling into the European Union (EU) must comply with REACH, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances regulation.

The consequences of non-compliance at any point in a supply chain could ultimately lead to products being kept out of the European Union market, as well as other markets that have their own version of REACH, such as China and South Korea.

The AEM MAP training platform allows manufacturers to trace vendors' participation and completion of the training at every level of the supply chain without revealing proprietary vendor information.

Industry-focused tool to assist compliance, help reduce costs

There is increased awareness of REACH, and of changes in the EU RoHs, and companies must now comply with the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act restricting minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo region, notes Wagner.

The AEM Market Access Pathway (MAP) learning platform provides training that is consistent, high-quality and affordable to members and the industry. It is designed to build a common understanding throughout a company’s supply chain to assist reporting accuracy and completeness.

“The AEM Board approved this training because it will minimize the time, effort, and expense for members to collect and distribute information along their supply chains,” stated Charlie O’Brien, AEM senior vice president.

“Consistent training can reduce compliance costs as well as supply chain risks,” O’Brien said. “It can also reduce product costs on new designs, among other long-term advantages.”

Training from operational to executive levels

The AEM learning platform provides compliance training based on an individual’s role in the company.

A seven-module Managers Training program is currently available. Training is recommended for managers with compliance-related responsibility in areas including purchasing, manufacturing, quality, legal, materials management and aftersales/parts. Training is also suggested for managers in operations, information technology and engineering.

The AEM training program offers an Executive Awareness module to help executives better understand the financial risks of REACH and the steps necessary for reducing them. Operational-level and Certification and Beyond-Compliance training modules are also in development.   

As part of its REACH initiative, AEM publishes a monthly EU REACH Executive Brief containing timely and relevant information to assist understanding and compliance.

For more information on AEM’s MAP training platform and REACH initiative, email REACH@aem.org.        

About the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)
AEM is the North American-based international trade group providing innovative business development resources to advance the off-road equipment manufacturing industry in the global marketplace.