Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1406534
SEPTEMBER 2021 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 91 you're in manufacturing, you collect and an- alyze data all the time so what are you doing with that data? Who's working with the data? What's the most efficient way to work with it? We're always looking at doing something with that as well. We started the company with vertical car- ousels, which most people walking through a factory don't normally see. ey see the tradi- tional stockrooms with shelves and boxes and carts. We thought it was a better way to store material and bring material to a person, but as time moved on, we still see the value in the carousels but felt there are even better ways to manage materials. Many years ago, we imple- mented the use of unique IDs for all parts. We viewed that as a better way of managing product once it's in the building. But we con- stantly look at how we can evolve to make our- selves a better and smarter company. We've implemented smart material handling carts. We've customized soware to be able to track components anywhere in the factory so you could literally key in a part number for a ca- pacitor and you would be able to know exactly where it is in the factory, down to a feeder lo- cation on a trolley cart on a machine. It's finite traceability. We put in an X-ray component counter be- fore it was the trendy thing to do. And we just implemented a smart incoming inspection ta- ble. It takes our incoming inspection time down by 60–70%, but even more important- ly, it makes it a much more accurate incoming receiving inspection process. e smart feeder carts and the smart inspection table vendor has worked very closely with us on improving how we move and track material through our sys- tem, allowing us to state with confidence that it is world class. So, we gain the added bene- fit of having a more accurate way of moving material, but it also is a faster, more efficient way. A lot of what we have focused on the past few years is managing materials internally much better and that rolls over to everything we do. A surface mount machine can't be too productive if it doesn't have all the necessary parts to run. Johnson: Is everything still fitting inside your original facility or are you growing out of it? Walker: It still fits inside as of now. When we originally laid out the building, we spaced things out, but our mix has changed. We have the same type of customers, but the type of products that we're building for them has somewhat changed. Top line revenue-wise, we are at a much higher level now than we used to be with more staff and running more equip- ment. ings are getting a little tighter here, and we still have room to grow. Our shis are not evenly split, but at the end of the day, to grow the business we must look not only here in San Jose but outside the Bay Area to see what makes the most sense for us. If we real- ly want to achieve the growth goals, more than likely it will require a footprint outside of the Bay Area. Johnson: Resilience in manufacturing as well as in the supply chain. Do you have some plans in mind or some new processes that you've al- ready implemented? Walker: A few years ago, we started sourcing machine parts in Vietnam because of the chal- Javad Ashjaee and Gary Walker, sharing a laugh prior to opening the San Jose facility in January 2010.