As new laws and regulations sprout everywhere regarding health and environmental protection (especially potentially harmful chemical disclosures) some industry sectors face multiple challenges when it comes to compliance due to the globality and depth of their supply chains.
That would be the case with the Aerospace & Defense (A&D) sector with its intricate networks of suppliers and complex bills of materials. To try and make sense of the ever-evolving regulatory landscape, A&D companies can turn to the Aerospace and Defense Declarable Substances List (AD-DSL) to sort out data collection priorities.
What is AD-DSL?
The AD-DSL is a list of approximately 1,200 product-related substances companies in the Aerospace & Defense industry can use as the basis to collect data for various compliance declarations that directly affect them.
The list has been created and is maintained by the International Aerospace Environmental Group (IAEG), a non-profit organization of 30+ global A&D companies that collaborate, exchange data and share solutions toward a more transparent and sustainable industry.
What Are the Listed Substances?
The chemicals on the AD-DSL are substances of concern present in Aerospace & Defense products, used in the manufacturing process, or necessary for operation, maintenance, overhaul, or disposal of said products.
These substances make it to the list because:
- they are the object of government restrictions, or
- they are impacted by reporting regulations, or
- they are high-risk chemicals subject to regulatory bans/phase-outs.
What is the Purpose of AD-DSL?
The use of AD-DSL is voluntary, but serves as a reference framework to be used by aerospace and defense suppliers in multiple ways:
- Communicating with customers
- Communicating with manufacturers and suppliers regarding safe handling and hazards
- Meeting regulatory requirements in other global compliance programs
- Adopting a risk-based approach to managing high-risk chemical replacements
- Prioritizing the need for finding alternative materials.
Tools of the Trade
There are a couple of ways you can report the AD-DSL against existing tools, allowing you to collect data from the lower tiers of your supply chain:
IPC-1754 - Materials and Substances Declaration for Aerospace and Defense
A strictly B2B new standard establishing the requirements on substances and materials data exchange. IPC-1754 supports the major global compliance programs like EU REACH, RoHS, and TSCA.
AD-SRT – Aerospace & Defense Support Reporting Tool
An IAEG-created excel file designed to capture and report information pertaining to substances information such as:
- Supplier/requestor identity
- Supplier/requestor supplied product information
- Substance information (supplied, used in product development, or required for operation or maintenance)
Data Collection Services
Two of the major challenges that businesses face when they have to collect specific data are:
- Setting up templates and reporting tools easy enough to use so your suppliers won’t disengage
- Finding the time to comb through the required information and follow up
One solution to ease the burden of steps leading to declarations is to outsource the task to a third party who specializes in leveraging technology for compliance programs and data collection processes.
Source Intelligence Expertise
Source Intelligence has developed multiple technology-driven solutions specifically designed to simplify the process of collecting data. We have the experience and the capability to collect AD-DSL-related information from your suppliers, especially if your A&D supply chain is complex. We take the heavy lifting off your shoulders so you can focus on your core business operations.
Request a demo from our compliance experts to see how our award-winning, fully customizable data collection solution can help you comply with over 50 global regulations and sustainability initiatives.
