Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1265351
78 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2020 the supply chain. If I want information about a weapons system, I'm not going to go after Lock- heed or Boeing—I'm going to go after a small- to medium-sized manufacturer where I can get some of the same information with a lot less hassle. The government needs to step up and cre- ate a grand challenge so we can identify solu- tions to help solve these problems on the shop floor. It also needs to put in place some educa- tional resources to help them, as well as pro- vide additional funding if they need to do cap- ital expenditures to improve or update their systems. That is a role the government should be playing but is not currently. Johnson: These two things seem to dovetail. You need the security, because as you open up the data to make the supply chain more trans- parent and resilient, you also expose which companies might be vulnerable to attack. Matties: And you need to see some hardening of systems. Is there anything we haven't talked about that you feel we should share with the readers? Peters: Again, I come from the mechanical man- ufacturing side with metal and those kinds of things. Before, I thought the electronics industry was going to run a lot more smoothly. However, I'm finding a lot of common issues between mechanical and electronics manufacturing, especially when it comes to the challenges fac - ing small- to medium-sized manufacturers. Johnson: What kind of an organization is the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics? Peters: It's a nonprofit organization to help ensure the U.S. government has access to resil- ient and trusted electronic supply chains. We'll be announcing members fairly soon, and we'll be a resource to bring them together with the government to solve problems, innovate new solutions, and address things in a way that isn't being done right now. One of the challenges the government has is that many electronics manufacturers—espe- cially PCBs and the components—are bur- ied layers deep in the supply chain. We don't have access to them. USPAE is going to help bring them together so that the government can get the benefit of interaction with the eco- system—not just the large companies, but also the small- to medium-sized companies, which can get the benefit of being able to talk directly to the DoD and even the primes for the large OEMs. I have DoD people looking to under- stand the challenges the industry is facing. What does the industry want right now and in the future? That would be a great partnership for us to work together on. Matties: One of the big issues in our industry is skilled labor—finding the right people with the right skillset who are willing to take a man- ufacturing job. With the COVID-19 crisis and the rate of unemployment, we may see a shift in thinking because these may be the jobs that come online sooner than the entertainment and leisure industry. Peters: One of the biggest challenges I hear from manufacturers is their frustration in getting a workforce. Typically, I hear that 40% of the appli- cants can't pass a drug test. I hear horror stories about them bringing somebody in, getting them trained, having high hopes, and then a week or two later, they walk away. As I hear all this talk post-COVID-19 and the need to bring every piece of manufacturing back to the U.S., there's no way we can handle it. Even if we built the facilities, we would not have the workforce to staff it. Matties: It's a kneejerk reaction, of course, but there's a certain degree that will shift out of other countries. Peters: I'm glad to help out, and I've enjoyed the conversation. The more of these things that we can do to help raise awareness within the industry, as well as different agencies within the government, the more good we can do. Johnson: Thank you, Chris. Peters: Thanks. SMT007