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84 SMT Magazine • August 2015 A standard should be complete, unequivo- cal, and consistent; it should be something that everyone can use and understand, promoting quality, responsibility, conformance, and com- pliance, as well as openness and visibility of information. In the electronics manufacturing industry, this just doesn't seem to be the case, with so many different so-called standards for everything ranging from operational rules and docu- mentation, to quality and traceability, which are con- fusing, incomplete, and rep- resent a major cost and waste to manufacturing. Top-tier OEM companies are frustrat- ed that they cannot get the information that they need, while manufacturers are also frustrated that they have so many different mandates to follow. Surely, in the coming Internet of Manufacturing (IoM) age, where standardiza- tion of communication and storage of information will be critical, the current way in which we approach and adopt standards in electron- ics manufacturing cannot prevail, can it? When OEM companies all did their own PCB assem- bly manufacturing in-house, it was the age of the engineer. Industrial engineers were re- sponsible for the specification and execution of the vari- ous production pro- cesses and flows that connected them to- gether. Quality management engineers ensured that all products that left the factory were free of defects. The science of quality management and control as well as that of industrial engineering progressed rapidly. The comparison of market defect analysis with internal quality reports led to active quality management so that the scope and risk of defect creation during production execution is a part of the process specification. The two engineering families in many cases now work to- gether very closely, or as one. Within a vertically integrated manufacturing operation, the control and management of quality yielded more than just one order of magnitude reduction of defects, both in- ternally and externally in the market, an important factor for all brand name companies as the cost of poor quality in the market can significantly af- fect sales. The market then changed direction, where many com- panies decided that instead of a "profitless" manufactur- ing operation overhead, the use of EMS outsourcing was a good way to go. The lure in- cluded the ability to manu- facture products in lower cost areas of the world without the need for investment, where specialist manufacturing com- panies would have access to greater discounts on material. How though to ensure that these by Michael Ford MEnTor grAPHiCS VAlor DiViSion THE ESSENTIAL PIONEER'S SuRvIvAL GuIDE Don't Allow Standards to Get the Better of You Column