Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1361971
APRIL 2021 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 33 Mack: Talk to the operators. e biggest thing is communication, especially with suppliers and operators. Once you start validating your deci- sions with data, and then you start communi- cating with your team, most of the times oper- ators are more than happy to help me with my vision because they feel like they're being part of the task. at's what I would advise young process engineers. Matties: You've mentioned data repeatedly. It's obviously very important. What training for analytics or statistics do you look for in a pro- cess engineer? Mack: I'll always go back to Cpk. Process engi- neers need to understand that the 1.33 indus- try standard can be achieved. at data really needs to drive some of the decisions that you make as a young process engineer. Matties: ey just need to understand what data to collect, how to collect it, how to man- age it, how to interpret it, and then how to dis- seminate it? Mack: Correct. I've taken Minitab courses a couple of times, and they offer a really good system to start using those tools for analytical and process control. Matties: Right, because with what you're talk- ing about, there's obviously a math skillset that's required. Mack: I started as a lab tech. My job was gath- ering data, and I would report to the process engineers on some of the data that I collected. Once you gain some experience with that data, it will drive you to what comes next. Matties: What's a typical day look like for you? Give us a rundown, a day in the life of…, if you will. Mack: Aer I check my emails, I'll go for a walk through the shop. en I'll start validating some of the processes that we've set up. I'll go and verify line speed to make sure they're cor- rect. As parts start to come out, so does the eye loupe. I'll usually look at a panel on each pro- cess once an hour. I'm walking the floor quite a bit. When I get a few free minutes, I'll start looking at the data. I also do the chemical ana- lytics here, too. I'll pick a project for the day— let's tinker with this and see what happens. I'm a problem solver, so when we do have an issue, I'm the point of contact to make pro- duction downtime minimal. Usually, you get one or two hiccups a week, but they're usual- ly manageable. Typically, I'm just walking the floor looking at panels. Johnson: Matt, this has been really informative. I think there's a lot of insight here. ank you. Mack: You're welcome. PCB007 In addition to process controls, Matt Mack also checks inventory on the chemicals used in ICM's board fabrication facility.