Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1153097
36 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2019 to Italy, Australia, Texas, New York, and even across the street. It doesn't matter where you are anymore as long as you are online. Beaulieu: You do a lot of training. Has that al- ways been the case? Chandler: Yes, I enjoy it and know it's impor- tant. Both a proficiency in the software tool and also basic knowledge in design principles are critical if you're trying to get to market in a timely manner and come up with the most cost-efficient, reliable product. Companies are just not as focused on training their designers as they once were, and you can see it in the designs. Many times, younger designers have no clue what they are designing and how it all needs to work. Beaulieu: I know exactly what you mean. I work with a lot of board houses, and the de- sign data packages they are getting are worse than ever. One industry expert made the obser- vation last year that less than 10% of the data packages that shops receive are flawless. Chandler: I completely agree. Now, some com- panies want to get their engineers to start do- ing the layout and not even using trained de- signers to try to save money and short-cut the process as much as possible. In the end, that's short-changing the client. Beaulieu: In your training experience, what is the most unusual thing that has happened? Chandler: One time, I was doing a one-day training for a large corporation with a class of 15 designers. After the morning session, ev- eryone left for lunch. But when I came back for the afternoon session, only one designer was sitting there. When I asked him what hap- pened, he told me that they had all been laid off during the lunch break. I asked him why he was still there. He said that he had been laid off too but wanted to complete the course so he could put it on his updated resume he would be writing. Beaulieu: I also knew a lot of times like that. Stick around long enough you'll see it all. What platforms do you design on these days? Chandler: We work with OrCAD and Allegro primarily for both design and training services. Beaulieu: What kind of companies do you de- sign for? Chandler: We design for a wide range of com- panies from the biggest corporations to high- tech startups and single consulting engineers. Our clients have ranged from Apple to Xerox, Intel, IBM, Teledyne, Raytheon, HP, Lockheed, etc. The "elevator speech" Robin Reynolds, our director of operations, gives introducing me to classes is, "With over 35 years in busi- ness, we've designed boards that are on other planets, under the ocean, and in your phones, homes, and cars. We've had both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs stand on stage to introduce de- vices we've laid out boards for, and we've de- signed for exciting new hi-tech wearables and mundane testing equipment." Beaulieu: And you train designers at these com- panies as well? Chandler: Yes, we train primarily in the Ca- dence Allegro software tool geared toward pre- paring the student to hit the ground running. Beaulieu: One of the things I'd like to come back to is the relationship between the board houses and designers. How do you rate that re- lationship in terms of importance?