With ever-changing regulations, obtaining a full materials declaration can save you time in the long run. Instead of searching for answers about whether or not your product contains a certain material when new regulations are published, having a full materials declaration available means you already have that information.
Preparing a full materials declaration, however, can feel daunting. Some products can have thousands of materials, and you will need to know all of them, including chemical compositions. Before you start inputting your materials, make sure you have gathered all the needed information from manufacturing subcontractors, from suppliers or from SDS sheets. Then use tools like the International Material Database System (IMDS) or Compliance Data Exchange (CDX) to compile your materials information in order to make your data entry easier.
Inputting Standard Materials
In both IMDS and CDX, standard materials are available. This means that instead of inputting detailed information about a material, you can find the materials in the software database and it will automatically fill in the needed information, including the chemical composition. This will not only save you time, but will reduce the amount of tedious, repetitive data entry tasks.
Using standard materials cuts down on user error and is the preferred method of input whenever possible. This also makes your data entry more efficient, as it takes less time for you to input individual substances of a material.
Inputting Custom Materials
When your material is not available in IMDS or CDX, you can create it in the database. Make sure you have all the necessary information before you start, including the chemical composition.
CDX and IMDS have built-in tools that will help you keep your data accurate. And because they are consistently updated with changing regulations, they will alert you if any components do not meet a certain requirement. They will also let you know if your materials contain basic substances that are toxic or potentially toxic by highlighting the substances in red.
Creating a full materials declaration can feel overwhelming, but tools like CDX and IMDS can make the task easier and more efficient. For support in using CDX or IMDS, check out our available online trainings, which can be done remotely and at a self-guided pace.
