Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1361971
60 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2021 Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team e I-Connect007 editorial team submitted a series of questions to Todd Johnson, qual- ity control director for Wus Printed Circuits, KEPZ China. Wus elaborates on the impor- tance of benchmarking in his organization, particularly for yield improvement and scrap reduction. Q: How do you see benchmarking used within the Wus organization? A: I will try to give you a comprehensive view of benchmarking use throughout the or- ganization. ere are aspects of benchmarking implemented from individual operator perfor- mance to internal plant KPIs, and cross-BU (business unit) optimization through to sup- plier, cooperative competitors, and customer intelligence. To start at the lowest level, within operation areas individual training programs include on- going weekly and/or monthly monitoring to push all employees to achieve the efficiency, quality, and performance of the best employ- ees within that area. is benchmark activity is captured within KPI targets for both individu- als and the process areas. At the next level, there is cooperative com- petition between process areas of the same plant, also captured through KPIs. Common process types—such as cleanroom/imaging, IL, OL, and SM—have common outputs and imaged structures utilizing similar systems and tools. Disciplines that affect output are bench- marked and optimizations shared between these common processes, for example: clean- liness techniques, preventative maintenance frequencies, controls, automation, etc. ere is plant/business unit benchmarking where we have antenna/PA, telecom/infra- structure, automotive/industrial, and HDI/ anylayer. While all have their key focus—qual- ity and reliability for automotive, high layer count and hybrids for telecom/infrastructure, PTFE-related materials for A/PA, special pro- cessing and lamination for HDI/anylayer— there is substantial overlap. Automotive qual- ity disciplines on cleanliness and controls help HDI; PTFE-related materials and HDI are Benchmarking for Yield Improvement and Scrap Reduction