Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1408619
10 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2021 For the past year, we've been discussing X = X c – 1, the idea that big gains in efficiency can be made just by making one small change to a process. We've spoken with technolo- gists across the PCB design, fabrication, and assembly segments, and they've shared stories about how one small tweak to a process oen leads to savings of hundreds of man-hours and thousands—or millions—of dollars. ere seems to be a general realization that the most effective way to make process improvements is not through a revolutionary, disruptive change, but in small increments that can be made almost immediately, without making a department learn an entirely new process. And let's face it: Disruptive changes can turn managers and employees into very unhappy campers. us, it was with an eye on X = X c – 1 that we began planning this issue of Design007 Magazine. We began, as we oen do, by looking at our survey data. In recent surveys, designers pointed to a lack of collaboration with fabri- cators as among their biggest ongoing chal- lenges. And some respondents noted that when they did work with their fabricators, it was late in the design cycle, usually fixing simple design errors that could have been avoided by communicating with the CAM engineer earlier in the process. Does that sound like your design team's relationship with your fabricator? The Shaughnessy Report by Andy Shaughnessy, I-CONNECT007 Collaboration by Design