Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1348195
20 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2021 are multiple people working on just one sec- tion of the schematic, that's a super common problem. is is, again, usually with more com- plex projects: "Oh, mechanical made a change to the enclosure, and didn't bother to tell the engineer, and, by the way, they can't use one of the core components they planned on using." Matties: Where's the accountability factor there? is must cost companies millions and millions of dollars. Kolar: We're not trying to cover our butts completely, but it's that communication. A common issue in service bureaus is that you have a front-end engineer and designer work- ing together, neither of whom are really pay- ing attention to the hours being spent. e front-end engineer just wants their perfect project, and the designer is trying to make him happy. Nowhere along the way do they go back to management and say, "By the way, I need an extension, or I need approval to spend two more weeks on this." Matties: It sounds like one of the most com- mon mistakes occurs when a change is made in a large team, and it's not communicated throughout the team; it's not that that person didn't care necessarily, but they may just have a broken process within their own facility. Kolar: Exactly. Everybody's busy and stretched on multiple projects, so, I think part of it is just figuring out how do we get people to slow down? at's the fine line and the irony of slow- ing down enough so you can actually be faster. Matties: But what if you're reaching into a large corporation with multiple layers and trying to ask them to do something that's not coming from their management, for example? Kolar: Part of it, from our end at the service bureau, is learning the styles of each of those customers, knowing what to expect and learn- ing how we manage and work within that. Some of them, just flat out, know they're going to be inefficient, and they're going to ask us to re-output the same package 50 times, and that's just how it is. Matties: at's great, but for new customers, if you don't have the luxury of that intelligence, it's just trial and error? Kolar: You figure out pretty quickly aer the first meeting or two. You figure out really, really quickly how well the engineer knows their processes—or not. Matties: What are some of the indicators in that first meeting that you would look for to tell you that there's a flag going up? Kolar: Some of it can be how much the front- end engineer is trying to specify to the designer to do their job, and they're specifying in a way that makes no sense. So, they've read some- thing in a book, and they have this great idea. Sometimes, it can be realizing that they have a lot of theory, but they don't have a lot of practi- cal knowledge. "Oh, is this the first time you've actually done a board with a BGA? What are your timing requirements?" And if they don't know the answer… Matties: ose are red flags. A common issue in service bureaus is that you have a front-end engineer and designer working together, neither of whom are really paying attention to the hours being spent.