Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1163814
26 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2019 Feature Interview by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 At the IPC Summer Meetings, I spoke with Emma Hudson, CTO at Gen3 Systems, about the current movement to streamline and harmonize IPC's standards with standards from other glob - al organizations. We also discussed what could be done to accelerate standardization to better keep up with changes in technology. Andy Shaughnessy: Nice to meet you, Emma. Can you give us a little background on Gen3 Systems? Emma Hudson: Gen3 is based in the U.K. We manufacture and distribute test equipment for high-reliability electronic applications. We are looking at SIR and CAF testing. We have the wetting balance. And ionic contamination is a big thing, so we make the Contaminometer, along with several other pieces of equipment. One of the things that we have been doing a lot of at IPC this week is talking about the test methods for ionic contamination and looking at the harmonization—something that Gen3 is heavily involved in regarding standards work. We are with IEC and IPC, and I am also in - volved in UL standards work. I am current- ly the chair of the British Committee and the convener of Working Group 2 for the IEC Elec- tronics Assembly Technology Technical Com- mittee. Further, we have clarified the test methods for SIR and process ionic contamination test- ing, including the process characterization us- ing SIR and ionic contamination that we've seen with the changes going on with J-Stan- dard-001 right now. We have created those test methods with IEC and are bringing them into the IPC committee meetings as well so that we can try and get some harmonization. The in- dustry needs harmonization of standards. Shaughnessy: Yes, it was pretty astounding hearing about all of these different global stan- dards organizations, and many of them creat- ing standards that overlap each other. It makes you wonder why we can't get them all on the same page. Hudson: I agree. Being involved in the stan- dards, you are often repeating the work. As an industry, and as someone who makes equip- Emma Hudson on the Harmonization of Standards