Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1323994
62 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2021 tified as an ISO 9000 supplier? You need to keep one thing in mind about ISO certification though. These days most companies claim to have a process recipe since most of them are now ISO certified. However, most of them do not even come close to defining what variables are important for yield. ISO certification is a good thing but very often it is more of a mar- keting tool and not very helpful for building products with high yield. The ISO requirement: "Say what you do and do what you say." So, most companies don't say much but you need a detailed recipe to produce quality product. And finally, when assessing the capability of a company to produce quality product on a consistent basis, it is important to keep in mind that having the right design, good qual- ity incoming materials, and an in-house pro- cess document are necessary but not suffi- cient. Training of personnel at all levels, from senior managers to engineers, operators and purchasing agents is critical for addressing all the issues needed to improve yield. You want to look into the training program of the com- pany for its personnel at all levels. Remember, no one gets up in the morning and says they're going to screw up three things today. It is man- agement's responsibility to provide training at all levels. Unfortunately, training is the area that gets cut when companies face hard times. Conclusion The idea behind all the questions in this col- umn and previous two columns is to establish whether the company has done extensive pro- cess evaluation and whether they understand the importance of critical materials and process variables on product quality and reliability. I should also note that as mentioned in the previous column, but worth repeating, is that the intent of these questions is not to dictate the process to the company but to assess their understanding and capability. You should focus mainly on the end requirements. Let the assembler worry about how best to meet those requirements. You are simply trying to establish whether they can meet your require- ments. SMT007 Ray Prasad is the president of Ray Prasad Consultancy Group and author of the textbook Surface Mount Technology: Principles and Practice. Prasad is also an inductee to the IPC Hall of Fame—the highest honor in the electronics industry—and has decades of experience in all areas of SMT, including his leadership roles imple- menting SMT at Boeing and Intel; helping OEM and EMS clients across the globe set up strong, internal, self-sustaining SMT infrastructure; and teaching on-site, in-depth SMT classes. He can be reached at smtsolver@rayprasasd.com. He has an upcoming SMT class on April 26-28, 2021. To provide you added flexibility, this class is being offered both on Zoom and in person in Beaverton, Oregon simultaneously. Details about classes can be found at rayprasad.com. To read past columns or contact Prasad, click here.