GRANTA MI:Restricted Substances tools
The MI:Restricted Substances tools are available as an add-on module to GRANTA MI. This augments core system capabilities and works with the Restricted Substances data module and your in-house data to create an integrated solution for restricted substance risk assessment and management.
A typical workflow for this solution is shown below—using MI:Restricted Substances tools you can INPUT substance data and bills of materials and REPORT on the restricted substance status of designs, materials, and coatings. These tools can be applied through the web browser user interface or within CAD and PLM systems through the integration capabilities of MI:Materials Gateway.
Finally, by using the MI:Restricted Substance tools alongside other GRANTA MI capabilities, you can SELECT and SUBSTITUTE materials in order to avoid and mitigate restricted substance problems.
Typical workflow for using the restricted substances tools during design
INPUT—creating a corporate restricted substance information resource
GRANTA MI makes it simple to capture and manage in-house or supplier materials and process specifications, substance information, policies, and other information of relevance to restricted substances. You can build up the integrated restricted substance data management system that your company needs. GRANTA MI integration tools also allow the system to access and use relevant data stored in other engineering or business systems.
Materials and process data
GRANTA MI core data import tools make it fast and easy to import materials property and process data into your GRANTA MI database.
Bills of materials
A specialist tool makes it easy to import 'Bill of materials' information for a product or product design via a simple Excel template. This data is important to enable restricted substance assessments of current or potential products.
You can select materials and processes directly from the GRANTA MI database and add data about each material within Excel. You can then import the BoM into GRANTA MI and run reports and queries. This makes it much quicker and easier to report on the restricted substance status of a product.
Substance declarations
Another Excel template (pictured, right) enables import of substance declarations for your organization or its suppliers. This makes it quick and easy to capture information about the restricted substances present in materials, processes, and components across your company and supply chain.
Import can be automated, with the system creating or updating relevant records and making appropriate links between them. You can specify which substances are 'declarable'—so the tool supports your substance declaration policy, whether that policy requires full or partial substance declaration.
REPORT—assess and manage restricted substance risk
The power of the MI:Restricted Substances solution is realised through its reporting capabilities—these allow you to query your corporate restricted substance information resource to assess and manage restricted substance risk.
Browse, search, and query
The simplest "reporting tool" is the ability to explore GRANTA MI's restricted substance information resource from a web browser. You can browse, search, query, and view datasheets covering materials, substances, and legislation.
Browsing restricted substance data in GRANTA MI.
The data shown on a datasheet is updated dynamically based on connections to other records in the database. So, for example, when studying a material record, you can see whether it is connected to any substances that may be 'banned', 'targeted', or 'regulated' under any of the regulations covered in the database. The datasheet will display a table summarizing this information and you can follow hyperlinks to the records for the relevant substances and legislations. For substances affected by multiple regulations, the system displays a 'substance summary rating'—you can then choose whether to drill into the data for more detail.
Users may also apply a legislation profile, so that the reported data reflects the jurisdiction in which the product will be sold or operated. For example, if working on a product for California, only relevant substance regulations for California would be included in the summary rating.
Standard reports
The MI:Restricted Substances user interface also enables you to produce a number of standard reports, including:
| Bill of Materials Report | Check the content of a bill of materials (for a product or design) to see whether problems are likely with current or future restricted substances. New in Version 6, this includes the ability to assign and report on the impact of surface treatment specifications. |
| Preferred Materials Report | Keep track of which materials have been designated 'preferred' by your company—restricted substance status is often a factor in this designation. |
| REACH Article 33 Report | Meet the requirements of Article 33 of the European Union's REACH regulations, which requires that organizations provide a report on any substances of very high concern (SVHCs) used in an article within 45 days of request. |
| Substances by Material | Identify which (current or possible future) restricted substances are present in, or used in the processing of, specific materials—very useful for assessing risk in your product portfolio or design process. |
New MI:Restricted Substances user interface: quick access to standard reports and searchers
Report within CAD, PLM, or other software
Integration with your CAD, PLM, or ERP system will make it even easier to report on the restricted substance status of products or designs. For example, a reporting tool, embedded within the PLM software, can connect to GRANTA MI to identify the materials used within the product and check on their regulatory status. Restricted substance reports can be generated quickly and accurately, within the user's regular workflow.
NEW in GRANTA MI Version 6—restricted substance dashboards within Pro/ENGINEER and NX, including the ability to assign and report on surface treatment specifications.
SELECT and SUBSTITUTE—avoid and mitigate restricted substance risk
The ultimate goal in responding to restricted substance regulations must be to avoid the use of these substances by removing them from consideration during the design process. GRANTA MI helps you to do this. The same tools can be used to find substitutes for materials rendered obsolete by restricted substance phase-outs and bans.
Using the standard search tools in GRANTA MI in combination with the restricted substance reporting tools, you can quickly find materials suitable for your engineering applications and filter them by their restricted substance status.
For example, you can search for materials that meet particular criteria relating to their mechanical or other properties and that are not linked to substances that are banned, restricted, or targeted for regulation (illustrated, right). Or you could take a list of candidate materials, run a report on their restricted substance status and then quickly drill into this data to assess the risk of each option.
In addition, Granta has three options to support a more systematic materials selection and substitution approach:
- GRANTA MI:Optimize—a wizard-style tool that identifies candidate materials based on specified design objectives. Compliance with restricted substance regulations can be specified as a constraint. Or, for substances that are regulated rather than prohibited, minimizing their use could be balanced against other objectives.
- GRANTA MI:Substitute—a systematic software tool for guiding materials substitution using your corporate materials knowledge and unique reference data. It helps manufacturing companies to respond quickly and consistently to material obsolescence due to restricted substance regulations..
- CES Selector—a PC-based tool for expert materials selection. Apply design constraints and generate selection charts to assist in trading-off design objectives.