Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1411055
62 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2021 and possibly constraining the overall goal. If not assigned to a person, the original per- son that may have come up with the re- quirement may have moved on and no one knows why the requirement is even in the process. is can have effects on process velocity. Simplify or Optimize Step three is a very important step and makes total sense. It is quite common for even a smart engineer to spend a lot of time opti- mizing a thing that shouldn't exist. We are all taught in high school and college to "answer the question." It's convergent logic. We cannot tell the professor that your question is dumb; we will get a bad grade. We must answer the question. So, we are trained to be in a mental straitjacket. erefore, we then spend the time optimizing a step or part that should not exist. We need to step back and, before we simpli- fy or optimize a process part or step, question whether that step is even necessary. If not, de- lete it. (See step 2.) Accelerate Cycle Time In step four we want to go faster. We can al- ways go faster. However, don't do this be- fore you have done the previous three steps. If something has gone wrong in steps one through three, you don't want to dig your grave fast- er. You want to stop digging. One of the main things that slows cycle time is too many in-pro- cess testing steps. What happens is that we put quality checks in process and then forget to de- lete them. Albeit they are necessary during de- velopment to identify weakness or non-con- formance, but if the final first pass yield is ac- ceptable at end of line, there is no further rea- son for the in-process testing step and it can be deleted. By following this idea, the veloci- ty of the process or line can be increased. It is too common that these steps are added during debug of the process and then forgotten. is leads to these unnecessary testing or check steps choking the line or process. Automate In step five, we automate. If all other steps have resulted in positive results, we need to pursue automation. is increases stability and repeatability. However, we need to think of the previous steps. We do not want to invest capi- tal in automation when, aer review, the auto- mation is not needed, and the automation step should be deleted entirely. Closing Thoughts Aer reading Elon's ideas on process de- velopment, and developing many processes over the years, I can see I have fallen into the trap more than once. What happens is that we find ourselves doing the five steps in reverse order. Aer spending all the time and ener- gy in process development, we have overen- gineered the process and have cost and steps that should never have been there in the first place. Doh! Whether you embrace some of the above thinking, I found it very interesting and a good spin on process engineering. anks Elon. PCB007 Todd Kolmodin is VP of quality for Gardien Services USA and an expert in electrical test and reliability issues. To read past columns or contact Kolmodin, click here. We need to step back and, before we simplify or optimize a process part or step, question whether that step is even necessary. If not, delete it.