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42 SMT Magazine • April 2016 case to be made that outsourcing certain rework projects makes a lot of sense. Costs to Consider for a rework Technician Several factors need to be considered as part of PCB rework and repair costs when looking at the "total costs." These costs include the la- bor rate of the rework technician performing the rework and repair operations, their training program costs as well as costs associated with supervising the individual. Hourly labor costs for soldering technicians performing rework operations drives a signifi- cant portion of the marginal cost of rework. The mean salary for associates skilled in the art of rework is $14.23 in the United States [2] . The na- tional average for the overhead burden which When a task is outside a company's core competency, it's time to outsource in order to save time and money while reducing the risk. This core competency is a deep proficiency that enables a company to deliver unique value to customers. According to business texts [1] , such a core competency creates sustainable com- petitive advantage for a company and helps it branch into a wide variety of related markets. Typically, the litmus test for a core compe- tency is that it's hard for competitors to copy or procure. Wait… isn't this the value proposition of EMS companies when selling the advantages of outsourcing to the OEM? Isn't the OEM bet- ter off designing, testing and supporting their customer base rather than being process geeks and "making" their widgets? Well, there is a by bob Wettermann best iNc. To outsource or not to outsource Pcb rework knockinG doWn ThE bonE PilE