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IMDS not MSDS, another standard to follow?

I am a zinc electroplater. I was asked by a customer if I was IMDS (International Material Data System)compliant. Well another acronym added to the list. I told the customer I have MSDS sheets on all my chemicals and would be more than happy to supply them. What the heck is IMDS, from their web site it appears to be automotive. Is it another *&%$*&^ out of Europe we surviving platers will have to deal with?

Don Penzenik
plating shop - Elkhart, Indiana, USA
2006

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Yes, it is just about what you feared -- yet another thing to comply with. For EoLV and other reasons, car manufacturers want to build a completely detailed tree showing every material that went into the car. Your plating may be only a very thin branchlet off a branch off a limb, but it's part of the material that the car is made of, and the car manufacturers want a complete material inventory down to the gram or even less. That way they can react when new hazardous substance regs hit them. It's covered pretty well in Wikipedia. One of the consequences of a global economy is that this kind of thing effects you and everybody worldwide.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006

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It is not as terrible as Ted describes it. All you have to do is ask your supplier whether the products he sells you, are listed in the IMDS. It is not your responsibility to check it, it is the suppliers'.
The point is that if the products you currently use are not listed in the IMDS, you will have to change them to products that are listed, to fulfill your customer's demand.

Sara Michaeli
Tel-Aviv-Yafo, Israel
2006

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Hopefully it is that simple, Sara, and stays that way. But quoting Wikipedia (which I'll admit isn't a trusted academic source):

Not only the banned materials have to be indicated. Instead, all substances have to be stated in the material data sheet (MDS) of the IMDS with a resolution of 1 gram or better.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006

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Ted, it is true that ALL ingredients have to be accounted for. It has to be summed up to 100%. BUT, the big supply houses did already this work and made sure that most of their products are listed there. Mainly the products that comply to ROHS, ELV and WEEE, are already listed.
I could send you a sample (without the supplier's name), but I don't know how to attach it to this letter. I can only send it as an attachment to an e-mail.

Sara Michaeli
Tel-Aviv-Yafo, Israel
2006

 Ed. note: Please do e-mail it to mooney@finishing.com, Sara, and we'll put it on this letter.

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2006

I attached a technical data sheet which already gives the IMDS ID number of the product.

So, as I already mentioned, it is easy for the plater to comply.

 

Sara Michaeli
Tel-Aviv-Yafo, Israel

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Ed. note: Thanks, Sara. Indeed, it doesn't look so bad after all :-)   -- Ted