Printed Circuit Design & Fab - May 2008 - (Page 14)

Back to Basics Now more than ever, the need for quality initiatives and continuous improvement move to the forefront of good business management practices. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. Two simple words that SHOULD go together like hand and glove, and yet for some strange reason they rarely do! For my entire working career the mantra of “continuous improvement” has been a center point of virtually every management guru’s theory. From Deming to Peters the message has PETER been consistent, focused and to point. In BIGELOW this increasingly competitive world, if you are going to prosper or simply survive at any level of your organization, you must embrace, employ and deliver continuous improvement every single day. And yet, when applied to the mundane, everyday tasks of running a high tech electronics business, dealing with and driving the kind of rapid change that cutting and bleeding edge technology implies, something odd happens. Rather than the needed continuous improvement, the result is more akin to an intermittent series of tweaks. Designing and fabricating printed circuit boards offers excellent examples of tweaking. RoHS legislation has forced a number of changes on us all. We have been forced to select new materials, new processes and new application methods. Some might say that this is an example of continuous improvement, but I disagree. How many companies have really taken the time to improve how they manage the processes they have changed? Most have simply changed chemistry, bought some new equipment or reordered old processes without really applying continuous improvement methods. Deming and Peters wouldn’t consider this a real improvement either, as it doesn’t represent continuous commitment. They might instead argue that RoHS has in fact redirected much needed continuous improvement resources and efforts, with the end result being a modified process that contains all the ingredients required to meet the new regulations but still represents nothing more than another sporadic process tweak. When I think of continuous improvement, what comes to mind is an organization with many people who are obsessed with making improvements that enable the process to go better, faster and be more cost-effective. These people are empowered to take action and then they just do it! True agents of change are those who are always looking at how to do the task better. On a daily basis they challenge the status quo. Unfortunately, the reality is that continuous improvement implies change, and most people are change resistant, therefore, finding people who are true agents of continuous improvement is a difficult task. To further complicate things in an industry where margins are thin and profitability is not a given for anyone, the risk inherent with change combined with the pressure to get things done quickly saps what little spark there might be to embrace continuous improvement. 14 We are often faced with a lean staff that has been charged with delivering product quickly. It reduces the amount of time anyone has to re-think what they are doing. Combine that with personalities and a culture that is process focused, and throw in a fear of failure, and the result is a false sense that improvement is continuously taking place. Talking with colleagues, I know that my company is not alone. The fact however is that the biggest opportunity that most of our companies have to increase profitability is to take a long hard look at what we do, how we do it, and then commit to finding a better way to do it and follow through on the changes needed! But change is not just reacting to something that customers, suppliers or other outside forces dictate. The change has to be focused on those two mated words – continuous and improvement. Looking first at the word continuous, the tough aspect here is to accept that it implies never ending, and human nature is always seeking an end, finality. The reality is that “stuff happens” all the time, and you can either place yourself in the position of always reacting to it, or make an attitudinal change that embraces being in control and ahead of the push. Most businesses have areas, whether a process, equipment or staffing, that are not capable of handling current or anticipated demands. Improvement in these areas does not necessarily take a lot of money, however it does require commitment. All involved need to be trained, encouraged and rewarded for working to improve those areas, knowing full well that the list is continuously changing. The second word in the mantra is improvement. What really is improvement? I think that the definition needs to be based on each business situation and then clarified so everyone gets it and remembers it. In my mind, the improvement target needs to be focused on achieving a quantum collective result made up of both smaller and larger individual steps. By quantum, I mean major, big, worth the effort! An example of significant goals could be a process cost reduction of over 30%, or replacing three processes with one, or increasing yield or throughput by some significant rate. Some last thoughts. Often the biggest disconnect related to continuous improvement is a commitment by management. As a manager you have to be dedicated to the program’s success. So, as we all continue to develop our individual strategies for lasting achievement, it’s a good time to get back to basics and focus on those sound quality programs and continuous improvement methodologies that will lead to improved margins and increased customer satisfaction. The rewards start when you make a commitment, set some significant but realistic goals and begin, together as a team, to work on your company’s continuous improvement program. PCD&F PETER BIGELOW is president and CEO of IMI (imipcb.com); pbigelow@imipcb.com. MAY 2008 PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB http://imipcb.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Printed Circuit Design & Fab - May 2008

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - May 2008 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI EMC For the Real World PCB East Conference Brochure Positive Plating Don't Let your Signals Stub Their Toes Improve PCB Layout With Skill Utility Programs The Next Generation Design Tool Challenge Thermally Conductive Microwave Materials PCB Dielectric Degradation in Lead-Free Assembly Applications A Tale of Two Trade Shows Eliminating Board Defects Off the Shelf Marketplace Ad Index BGA Bulletin

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - May 2008

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