Compliance Resources to Help you Stay Current

Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) identifies six hazardous substances that should not exceed a certain threshold limit in a product. But lead being a major ingredient in all electronic equipments by way of solders, chips etc, and has the potential to be a health hazard by way of contamination has resulted in RoHS being referred to as Lead-free RoHS.

To make electronic manufacturing lead-free, use of RoHS qualified printed circuit component packages and use of lead free solders is being accepted and practiced. But these approached have given rise to new challenges of finding right material composition for other components.

An integrated effort is required to achieve RoHS compliance in its full essence. Read more on this.

Occupational Safety and Health Act was constituted to enforce employers to provide no risk work environment for its employees. It entails steps to take towards safety and health, training and guidance for all employers and employees in the working environment.

OSHA enforces the following:

• Use of proper equipments
• Safe work practices
• Reporting any dangerous conditions not accounted
• Provide first-aid at workplace
• Ensure training, medical examination and maintain records for follow-up
• Reduce chemical exposure

“House Passes Health Reform Bill” read the headlines a couple of days back. Obama’s landmark project set to bring radical change in medical coverage to the entire population of America. Pro-Obama group are all praise for the outcome. But there are also voices which raise concerns about the fine print of the bill. So does government regulation prove to cause more harm than good?

Regulations have been conceptualized to reign in quality, costs and any kind of malpractices that can affect the users. Quality comes at a cost. The cost of compliance is very significant. Hence regulations are termed as necessary evil. Truth is the cost of non-compliance could be higher.

The SATYAM fiasco has opened a Pandora’s Box of how skewed corporate communications can be. More so the role of financial auditors like PriceWaterCooper has come under strict scrutiny to avoid any such occurring in the future. There has to be a revamp of the entire process starting with appointing, re-appointing, evaluation and selection of the auditors to checking the credibility and consistency of all company financial communication in the best interest of the various stakeholders.

Audit committee should set up internal control systems that periodically checks up with the auditors with regards to audit observations and reporting

Indian corporate scenario has seen a sea change with the onset of liberalization. Indian based companies have become global leaders in many areas of the industry. This has laid the foundation for companies to follow globally acceptable standards of governance. Also incidents of global influence like that of Satyam have forced companies to fall in line with global standards to be business worthy.

Companies have the tough task of establishing trust among the various stake holders in the wake of strict scrutiny by these communities. The onus is plainly on the management to adopt sound governance practices.

What is corporate governance? What are the underlying principles? Read on

Human Resources Department – as in the name a department to take care of the resources of the company. There are several revenue generating departments in a company but HR though does not garner significant revenue, in a way becomes the public face of the company. Looking back HR work has graduated from mundane data entry and data management to being more involved in a strategy oriented role which augments the growth of the company. There are new areas that have come in to lift HR to the next level. Technology and methodologies like competency mapping, employee engagement etc have catapulted HR into a strategic role.

But HR deals with intangibles, so is it right to quantify HRD?

FDA applies different regulatory requirements on products depending on whether they are medical devices, drugs or biologics. FDA has instituted various agencies to govern, enforce and update these regulations. But FDA has found it challenging to regulate products which are a combination of the categories.Though FDA has done well in regulating such products, industry feels the need for improvement in this area. Compliance is the need of the hour, but being compliant requires investment of time, resources and budget.

This article discusses the current approach in regulating combination products, problems with the current approach and the new developments in this regard which will make regulating these products more transparent, consistent and appropriate.

An ecstatic President Obama after the House passed the new Health Reform Legislation said in a statement after the vote, "I look forward to signing it into law by the end of the year."

This is an important legislation as it intends to take affordable medical care to almost 96% of the country's population. Insurance will become accessible irrespective of health or income status. The complete healthcare system will be taken over by the government. Both individuals and companies will be slapped with penalties for any defiance of government mandates.

Management decisions are driven by data both internal and external. Data driven issues in GRC becomes more critical performance. Addressing this issue can be done in the following way:

• Linking good data management practices to measurable business outcomes
• Making sure the outcomes committed are inline with business strategy objectives

The key elements that govern proper data management initiatives are

• Clear vision
• Disciplined governance driven approach to investment
• Prioritization process
• Best practice driven integration methodology
• Management oversight and follow through

More insight on implications and emerging trends in data quality read on

Risk Management involves identification, assessment and prioritization of risks. It Identifying risk and proper mitigation becomes critical for successful business. The strategies to manage risk include transferring risk onto another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of risk, and accepting some or all consequences of a particular risk.

Factors from which a business risk can arise are:

• Insufficient Planning – What is the impact of assumptions not backed by research?
• Bad Relationships – What is the impact of not nurturing good relationship with stakeholders?
• No Hedging – What is the impact of improper hedging of risk?
• Lack of Discipline – What is the impact of mismanaging expenditure, debts, etc?

For more detailed insights read on

FDA has made a startling discovery that about 50,000 hospitalizations reported could be avoided if caregivers took extreme care whie administering prescription medicines. The cost perspective has been estimated to be $4billion annually. The concern here is that most of the victims are children of all ages.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today launched its first-ever Web site devoted exclusively to investor education, providing investors with in-depth information and "top tips" on how to invest wisely, plan for the future, and avoid being scammed.

RoHS – Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive - This directive restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC which sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic e-waste. -

E. coli 0157:H7 Salmonella and Listeria contamination by way of fresh produce is causing frequent public health outbreaks.

Tsunami 100 registered with the EPA has proven to be the only water additive which reduces pathogens in fruit and vegetables process water. It works to eliminate upto 99.9% of the pathogens in process water. It also has increased the shelf life by eliminating other surface pathogens on fruits and vegetables.

FDA till date has been issuing voluntary food safety guidelines but is under pressure to up the ante on forming a task force to investigate the recent outbreaks and suggest changes to avoid further proliferation of such outbreaks.

The emphasis on hygiene and sanitation seems to be shifting to the roots – that is right from the farm.