PCB007 Magazine

PCB007-May2020

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40 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2020 of engineers were relocated to their homes and continued working remotely without any inter- ruption to service. Some smaller CAM entities did not have the immediate capability, or—in some cases—no capability to continue opera- tions. In Southern India, internet connectivity is not much different than what we enjoy in the U.S. Other states and regions in India have minimal capabilities. A lockdown with 24-hour notice shut them down. The Skyla team has reconfigured working hours to accommodate the many cases of ad- ditional demand due to U.S.-based employee unavailability or instability. Fortunately, on the CAM supplier side, the few other major well- established companies have been and are also very likely to have prepared to expand capacity and have engaged in-place safeguards to main- tain security. For the most part, there has not been a per- ceptible slow-down in business activity. This can change, of course. In the short term, all resources are in play. PCB companies that had outsourced to small, under-resourced India providers need to cover their bases. Compa- nies that have been doing all the work inter- nally are looking to establish engineering re- sources to augment existing capabilities. In some cases, it may not have been previously known that ITAR work can be outsourced to qualified/registered companies under con- trolled conditions. percentage of jobs with ITAR designation. Multiple customers have been successful in receiving TAA approval from the U.S. Department of State. Engineers in India can legally process ITAR jobs for our North American customers. 3. USA workers: The reality is that there are not enough trained persons with the level of education—preferably community college—and experience to provide the scale that is needed for a U.S. manufac- turer to grow. Companies cannot recruit, train, and retain workers. This condition has, in recent years, become more important than the potential cost savings. 4. Resistance to change: This has been overcome, much like the acceptance of materials and equipment made overseas and the increased prevalence of offshore PCB manufacturing to accommodate larger volumes with lower prices. It can be noted that the very largest of the world's multinational PCB manufacturers have front-end engineering work done offshore in their own dedicated "in-house" operations. This includes European, North American, and—of course—Asian PCB companies. Skyla's Team When the Prime Minister of India announced a "lockdown" at the end of March, Skyla's team

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