NEW TO IMDS?

Why do I have to use IMDS?

There are many legal requirements throughout the world that require automotive manufacturers (OEM) to report on the content of the vehicle. Additionally, there are recyclability and reuse requirements in some parts of the world. Instead of each automotive manufacturer developing their own system and requirements, a group of them decided in the late ‘90s to develop a common system to be used throughout the automotive supply chain – IMDS. You are not alone – in the years since IMDS became productive, over 250,000 user IDs in over 90,000 IMDS companies (as of April 2012) were issued. It is the standard for the automotive industry.

All this is free?

The usage of the browser based IMDS is free for the global supply chain.

HP (former EDS) has developed and hosts the basic IMDS system. We have developed additional services that can be purchased for companies with a large amount of data to be entered or for requests that do not fall within the scope of the helpdesks (e.g. moving data from one IMDS company to another) (see Public Pages > Services).
What do I have to do?

First of all, your IMDS experience will go much more smoothly if you read the information given. We have published a wealth of documents that answer common user questions. It is expected that you live up to the Terms of Use that you accept at first login – this includes managing the users in your own company and keeping the contact information up-to-date.

It is also highly recommended that you get training from a qualified source. If you cannot do that, then you need to read the information available:

Minimum Reading List:

- After login, the Recommendations link, particularly Recommendation 001 which deals with general structure and Recommendation 022 which deals with change management. Additionally, there are other recommendations that pertain to specific products.

- Public Pages > New to IMDS? > Create an MDS

Other useful information:

- Public Pages – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Please feel free to use the Search box in the upper right. But if you just care to browse, the postings have been grouped by:

– General Information

– How To Tips – the items here are usually PowerPoint step by step guides

– OEM Specific Info – contains specific requirements that have been posted by the various automotive manufacturers

– Faster Data Entry & IMDS Administration – contains information on administrative topics, including how to tips for the client manager

– Legal Requirements – contains the European ELV and information on other Legal Requirements

– Information on Materials – topics of particular interest to anyone creating a material or looking for materials

- Basic Substances - Information on basic substances

- New to IMDS? > Reading for New Users > IMDS User Manual – this document is the User Manual for IMDS and useful for understanding how IMDS works.

- IMDS Service Centers – there are several in various parts of the world. Languages spoken: English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. These are the native languages of the car manufacturers that are members of IMDS. Look for the information on Public Pages > Contact. The agents can answer specific questions about the IMDS functions, but cannot train users or answer questions specific to your product or materials.

- Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL) – www.gadsl.org – the Global Automotive Stakeholders Group (GASG) has reviewed legislation in Europe, Japan, and the Americas and listed those that may appear on a vehicle. Substances expected to be consumed during manufacturing are not included in this list, nor are substances that are not relevant to the automotive industry.

Summary

The goal of IMDS was to make it accessible to everyone with minimal computer capability. Anyone with a computer browser and access to the internet can enter data to IMDS. There is no software loaded onto a user’s PC. This eliminates the need to have specific PC hardware, privileges, and operating software version, patch level, etc. installed. You do need to have an e-mail system that does not block e-mail from imds-info@hp.com or consider it junk or spam as all login information is communicated from the system itself. IMDS works best if you do not have a popup blocker enabled for IMDS sessions.

At just about any time of the day during the work week, you will be online with hundreds of other people – all accessing the same database. However, the speed of page display and data transfer largely depends on your company's internet connection. If you experience low response times etc. pelase check the IMDS User Manual - it describes how to test your internet connection from within IMDS.