Electronics Components Certification Board Adopts TIA's EIATRACK Environmental Regulatory Tracking Service

Arlington, Va. – The Electronics Components Certification Board (ECCB) will use EIATRACK, the Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA) environmental regulatory tracking service, as a quality assurance tool in its Hazardous Substances Process Management (HSPM) Green Manufacturing Certification Program.

ECCB, as the U.S. management arm of the International Electrotechnical Commission Quality Assessment System (IECQ), certifies through a network of certifying bodies (CBs) that manufacturers are in compliance with USA Standard EIA/ECCB 954 and IECQ's HSPM specification. That assures that a company's production processes and electronic components represent the highest standards of quality and Hazardous Substance-free characteristics. ECCB plans to promote EIATRACK to manufacturers as an additional vital tool for managing the ongoing process of remaining compliant. The manufacturers and the CBs themselves will be able to take advantage of the TIA member discount on EIATRACK annual subscriptions.

In today's hypercompetitive market, falling out of compliance in any jurisdiction can be disastrous for manufacturers, especially given the state of the global economy. The cost for companies to individually track compliance regulations is astronomical. The IECQ HSPM specification has the additional goal of reducing compliance costs.

"EIATRACK has been designed with user input to give electronics companies a tool to cost-effectively manage their compliance with environmental regulations globally," said TIA President Grant Seiffert. "EIATRACK provides a wealth of information manufacturers can use to meet ECCB certification for HSPM."

Stanley H. Salot Jr., President of the Electronic Components Certification Corp. and co-creator of the US EIA/ECCB 954 Standard and IECQ HSPM Specification, said: "EIATRACK is by far the best tool on the market today! Our certification bodies, member companies and more than 1,600 IECQ HSPM-certified manufactures can now cost effectively understand Hazardous Substance regulatory requirements worldwide, which enables better management of their Hazardous Substance compliance. Perhaps the greatest problem faced by industry worldwide before EIATRACK was their inability to know what they did not know. With EIATRACK that problem is virtually gone."

EIATRACK is a subscription-based Web service that delivers regulatory updates, detailed analyses and reports, Webinars and news for more than 100 global jurisdictions, including each of the United States.

TIA, which owns and manages EIATRACK, employs highly-respected legal firms and technical experts to monitor and analyze regulations related to the RoHS, WEEE, REACH, EuP Directives, battery recycling, design for the environment, energy efficiency and more, for products that contain electronics, cabling, chips, plastics and other materials that are subject to compliance rules. As companies seek to export their products to countries and even at the municipal level around the world, they use EIATRACK to make the tracking task simple, from product design throughout the entire product life cycle.

For more information about free demos, trials and subscriptions for EIATRACK, contact TIA's Environmental Program Manager Ellen Farmer at +1.703.907.7582 or at efarmer@tiaonline.org, or ECCB's Christina Clark at Christina.Clark@eccb.org.

About TIA

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, tradeshows, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. With roots dating back to 1924, TIA enhances the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment and entertainment. TIA co-owns the SUPERCOMM® tradeshow and is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit tiaonline.org.

About ECCB

The Electronics Components Certification Board (ECCB) provides national and international value-added certified recognition for organizations involved with electronic components and related materials, products and processes through the International Electrotechnical Commission Quality Assessment System. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Quality Assessment System for Electronic Components is the only comprehensive, worldwide approval and certification program that assesses electronic components to quality requirements, and has been operating since 1982. Visit eccb.org.

TIA's Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, ArrayComm, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., GENBAND, Inc., Graybar, Henkels & McCoy, ILS Technology, Intel Corporation, Intersect, Inc., LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., and Verari Systems. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates, Orca Systems and Telcordia Technologies.