Auditing for a Safe and Sustainable ASSA ABLOY

As ASSA ABLOY acquires more companies and therefore expands its supplier base, the need for supplier audits increases. The Group insists that suppliers measure up in the key areas of environment, health, safety, business ethics and human rights.

It is essential that all existing and new suppliers meet the Group’s high standard. Peak Chang, senior supplier management engineer at division Asia Pacific’s Asia Sourcing office, emphasizes the importance of audits, especially when moving production from high-cost countries to low-cost countries – a growing trend at the moment.

“Moving production to low-cost countries means there is increased pressure on performing audits and securing the quality level of our suppliers,” Chang said. “We have a unique opportunity to strengthen our brand, products and market position if we handle our risks properly on the road to becoming a mature world player in terms of sustainability management.”

Audits are designed to assess risks within five main areas: environment, health, safety, business ethics and human rights. The process is always the same, regardless of which type of supplier is being audited or which auditor is doing the inspection.

“Safety, health and human rights are parts of the operation that we mark most often,” Chang said. “Some companies only focus on business ethics. In their eyes, health and safety don’t affect the customer. But that is not good enough for ASSA ABLOY. All five parts of the audit are equally important.”

In 2010, the responsibility for audits was laid on the Group’s five divisions. They are now responsible for their own targets, follow-ups and budgets.

“We needed an organization that reflected the requirements and that could bring us closer to the operations,” said Anders Wirsenius, group supplier quality and sustainability manager at ASSA ABLOY. “All five divisions have their own auditors, educated by ASSA ABLOY in our standardized audit process.”

Chang noted that audits are not only about controlling suppliers, but a tool to help ASSA ABLOY develop as a company. “Through our audits we can create new business opportunities, learn from our suppliers’ experiences and pick up new knowledge concerning product trends, technology and the external environment,” he said.


May 21, 2012
www.appliednanotech.net
Applied Nanotech Unveils ThercoBond Family of Highly Thermally-Conductive Bonding Materials

Highly thermally-conductive bonding and printed materials

Joins award-winning thermal management material CarbAl and ultra-strong adhesive CNTstix in growing nano product inventory

Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. announced that it has unveiled a new family of highly thermally-conductive bonding and printed materials called ThercoBond for power electronics and photonics applications.

ThercoBond materials are specially designed for power electronic device packaging and dielectric coating, with an optimal combination of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion, dielectric and insulating properties, wettability and printability.

“The implementation of new thermal interface composites with a significantly higher level of heat dissipation performance is critical for the extreme requirements of power electronic devices today” said Dr. Nan (David) Jiang, director of the Thermal Management Division at Applied Nanotech, Inc. “The scope of industrial and commercial applications for ThercoBond materials is immense, starting with electronic packaging, power LEDs and PCB assembly, just to name a few.”

ThercoBond materials can easily be applied on various substrates by conventional screen printing, drawdown, and even inkjet and other printing approaches to form thermally conductive dielectric layers for printed circuit board (PCB) applications as well as other electronic packaging needs. The first two products in the ThercoBond family are polymer-based (DTC-P) and ceramic-based (DTC-C).

“With the global market for thermal interface materials projected to be over $600 million by the year 2016, the potential market for ThercoBond materials is very large,” said Doug Baker, CEO of Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. “The ThercoBond family of products now joins our award-winning thermal management material CarbAl and our ultra-strong adhesive CNTstix in our growing list of superior performance products based on our nanotechnology innovations. We are well on the way to achieving our commercialization and revenue goals we set for ourselves this year.”