Making Sense of the Changing Global Supply Landscape: New Rules and Reformulations

摘要

The global nature of military supply chains means that evolving chemical regulations throughout the world are triggering product reformulations and affecting the work of acquisition professionals. When defense contractors purchase from, and build for, a global market, the most stringent chemical regulations in the supply network drive the availability, use, and disposal of constituent materials in weapon systems and equipment. How can acquisition professionals successfully adapt to this changing global landscape. The Law of Unintended Consequences Currently, the most stringent chemical regulation is the European Union's (EU's) REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation. Although in its early stages of implementation, it is already driving product reformulations across the globe as industries move away from using known hazardous materials to inherently more benign ones. REACH, and other evolving international chemical regulations will increasingly affect the cost, performance, and schedule of weapons acquisition programs due to product reformulations. For example, in July 2006, the EU promulgated a new regulation entitled 'Restriction of Hazardous Substances' (RoHS), which limits the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and other chemicals in products. The restriction on lead prompted manufacturers to switch to lead-free solder alloys and pure tin termination finishes in a broad array of electronic equipment. Pure tin finishes develop 'whiskers' that can short-circuit crucial electronics in aircraft and other critical military applications; and the reliability of lead-free solder alloys has not been proven in military and aerospace applications.