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28 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2020 Article by Happy Holden I-CONNECT007 Editor's Note: In this excerpt from Automa- tion and Advanced Procedures in PCB Fabri- cation, Happy Holden discusses how to break down the planning process using a technique called automation methodology to clearly de- fine the current processes and the impact that automation will bring. Automation, in a working context, means more than just automatic ma- chinery. Machinery implies mecha- nization. Automation also means that system information directs and controls people, materials, and ma- chines, also known as systemization. Therefore, automation is made up of two components, like a vector: mech- anization, or material flow, and sys- temization, or information flow. Mechanization Classes Mechanization can be divided into six classes, which indicate the amount of sophistication of machines and machine interactions with humans. The classes are rated based on the percent of the work done by machines (Table 1). Systemization Levels Similarly, systemization can be divided into six levels that indicate the amount and sophis- tication of blueprints, information, data, sched- uling, and control that take place (Table 2). Each level has an increasing percentage of machine/computer content handling the infor- mation required to fabricate, schedule, test, or move a product. Automation Planning: An Excerpt Table 1: Mechanization classes. Table 2: Systemization levels.