Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1221561
40 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2020 Spring is just around the corner! I'm sure many of us are already pondering our spring- cleaning projects where we will downsize and remove clutter and waste—the unnecessary junk or refuse. But were these things we clean out always junk? Probably not, but they be- came waste for one reason or another. Maybe those extra 2x4s in your shed or garage were not needed, had you estimated the project correctly, but then you had excess inventory, which led to wasted costs. Any time we overestimate our projects, we lose costs. For individuals, it may not be as monumental, but for manufacturing, it can be painful. Building extra products exceed- ing demand is costly in both time and materi- als, which both affect the bottom line. There are multitudes of knowledge repositories out there covering everything from 5S to Kaizen. All these strive to reduce waste and streamline processes. Many disciplines believe electrical testing (ET) means only performing electrical test, or, "Is the board electrically correct?" Of course, that is what ET does, but it doesn't have to stop there. ET failures are faults in the elec- trical signature of the PCB, but a knowledge- able quality assurance provider can provide valuable feedback on the root causes of the electrical failures. Just like the earlier ex- ample about having extra junk in your shed or garage, ET can provide quality feedback to critical processes that may be generating waste. Once products have reached ET, it is pretty much impossible to correct core issues of the PCB; most times, the PCB is scrapped. That is money down the drain. Unfortunately, in manufacturing arenas where processes are not controlled or monitored, the site compensates and manufactures excess quantities to com- pensate for scrap or waste. Adding an overage Waste Not, Want Not Testing Todd Feature Column by Todd Kolmodin, GARDIEN SERVICES USA