The changes in reporting glass, ceramic and enamel materials and how to use the stochiometric analysis to convert a list of ingredients - to the end state material, while still tracking any declarable substances on GADSL.

What’s reported in IMDS?

IMDS reports contain detailed information on the composition of materials down to the basic substance level, used in automotive products, Specifically, IMDS reports contain the following information:

1. Material composition: Information on the basic composition of a material, including the types and quantities of chemicals and substances used to produce it.
2. Regulatory information: Information on the regulatory status of the material, including its compliance with various environmental regulations, and its classification as prohibited or declarable.
3. End-of-life information: Information on the amount of recycled content being used in a material.
4. Additional Fields: Chemistry Manager for materials with REACH Substances, SVHC, Biocides, etc.

What are the benefits of using IMDS?

There are several benefits of using IMDS in the automotive industry:

1. Environmental compliance: The automotive supply chain has many regulations - some of which include the EU’s REACH and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. These regulations are geared towards prohibiting the use of certain substances in products. IMDS helps automotive companies become compliant with these various regulations by detailing the materials that went into making their products. If there are hazardous substances within their products, IMDS helps automotive companies find them and determine alternatives that are safer and better for the environment.
2. Transparency in the supply chain: It’s important for automotive companies and their suppliers to communicate and share information on how their products were made (more specifically, what materials went into making them). IMDS aims to provide a standardized way of doing that. With the proper communication, supply chain risks can be identified and addressed early, leading to increased transparency and confidentiality.
3. Data Security: IMDS doesn't divulge lower tier supplier names, and it allows for non-GADSL substances to be represented as confidential or with a wildcard/joker.
4. Cost savings: When communication between automakers and suppliers is low, supply chain risks and regulation compliance issues increase, which leads to increased (and unnecessary) costs. IMDS helps combat these costs by not only ensuring data longevity with regulatory constant changes and supplier engagement, but also by identifying safer, more environmentally friendly alternative materials to use during production to better comply with international regulations.
5. Improved sustainability: Safer, more environmentally friendly material options help to increase sustainability in the automotive industry overall. Committing to the improvement of environmental health improves many things: the reputation of automakers and suppliers, sales numbers, customer loyalty, and more.

What other industries use IMDS?

While IMDS was developed originally for the automotive industry, other industries have also recognized its value and adopted its use.

On road vehicles such as commercial vehicles are permitted to use IMDS. Heavy equipment that has automotive as part of their business is permitted to only use IMDS for the automotive portion.

The electronics industry has also adjusted to content material reporting. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has developed a standard called IEC 62474 that outlines the requirements for managing material data in the electronics industry. The standard also includes the IPC 1752B standard that has been widely used for business to business and system to system data exchange for over 10 years. There is talk to work directly with IMDS to exchange data between the two systems.