Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1212069
92 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2020 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE the committees that I was interested in so that they could share the detailed agendas, meeting minutes, drafts that they're working on, etc. It was a tremendous opportunity because I deal with bare boards, we populate the boards, and do full box build from the front to back. IPC touches every industry niche. Matties: In the committee meetings, are you an observer or an active participant? Vaughan: I was an observer for the first two. The third one that I went to was 74D, which addresses PCB processes and assembly defects. Under that umbrella is 1911, which is the assembly process defects. They're going through some appendices, but they want to do a full revision. Part of this full revision is to add a lot of graphics because what they're missing in the current standard is graphical representa- tion next to the wording of how these defects come about and what they look like so that you can spot them. I took it upon myself to get an action item, so I raised my hand and decided to review two different sections for the content as it is. If there's any kind of input or anything like that, I'll comment on that. In a contract manufactur- ing world, every day is different. We build so many products, and manufacturing is not per- fect. There are opportunities to capture differ- ent types of defects based on your processes. It was a drop-in fit for me to grab images and be able to share them in certain sections of the book, as allowable by customer set, obviously. I was excited to immediately contribute because my knowledge base may not be as deep. Some of the people in that room are very knowledgeable in their areas of expertise. I'm not at that level, but it was interesting to con- tribute where I'm able, knowing it's a gradual approach. Matties: Are these committees something that you'll continue to be involved with? Vaughan: It depends on my bandwidth. They allow you to join as many committees as you want to, but I don't want to sign up for a bunch if I'm not contributing. I'm going to start at a slower pace because some of these standards are so mature that there's really not a lot of input. On those committees, it's good to help with minor edits here and there; others, such as the CFX committee, have 400 members because the IPC-CFX rollout is huge this year. It will depend on what's mature, what's new and upcoming, and where I think I can inter- ject the most of my personal knowledge base. Matties: But, once you're in, it's your choice to continue, and you're welcomed and encour- aged to do so. Vaughan: Absolutely. Matties: What do you feel like the overall ben- efit of the program has been? Vaughan: It's all-encompassing. I enjoy the connection part of it as well. The professional development courses and technical conferences are great because you learn a lot of information. Also, my mentor is not much older than I am. We're about the same age, but he has catapulted his career path from being in this program, and those lifelong connections are important, in addition to the knowledge base I'm gaining. Matties: Of course, IPC wins because they bring bright young minds like you into the fold and nurture your path forward, ensuring that there's a deep knowledge base to carry these missions forward. What professional develop- ment courses did you attend? Vaughan: I did design for assembly and design for manufacturing, both for the bare board and the CCSI. Matties: Some on the design of the circuit board. Vaughan: Yes. Because I'm building and pop- ulating boards, and coming from a different approach, if I'm troubleshooting, not only do you look at the commonalities and the vari- ables that are typical within that process, but