Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1440051
JANUARY 2022 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 107 Maggie and John continued talking with Phil and then with a few other staff members, while Chuck and Frank walked around the facility to investigate. At the end of the day, the four got together with the assembly equipment service techni- cians to summarize what they had learned. "What do you two think about the equip- ment here?" Maggie asked the two service techs. Fred Dempski and Ron Johnson. "We both agree all of the equipment is just about shot," Ron said. "Yeah, it's almost comical, especially the stencil printer," Fred continued. "Elaborate please," John requested. "ere is so much dried solder paste on the printer, we will need chisels to get it off," Fred told him. Aer much more discussion, Maggie finally requested developing an action plan. "We can keep the equipment limping along for six months," Fred said, while Ron add- ed, "But you should have a plan to replace the equipment on both lines." Aer a bit more discussion about the equip- ment, the group went on to the other issues. "e operation has considerable challenges along the lines of 5S 1 and the Seven Mudas 2 ," Chuck stated. Chuck was one of the company's experts in Lean Six Sigma, having recently earned his Green Belt, so 5S and the Seven Mudas were natural for him to comment on. "Something definitely needs to be done about morale," Maggie added. "The place needs a thorough cleaning," Frank chimed in. More recommendations concluded with ac- tion plans, assuming that Benson Electronics still wanted to buy Ivy Electronics. Will BE buy Ivy Electronics? What will the price be? What is in the action plan? What is 5S and the 7 Mudas? Stay tuned to find out the an- swers to these questions and more. Note from Dr. Ron: I know this story about Ivy Electronics seems too hard to believe. You might think no company could be so bad. However, the facts of the story are from an audit of an electronics assembler that I per- formed quite a few years ago. e bathroom story is also true. SMT007 References 1. "Getting Organized with 5S: Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize, Sustain," Six Sigma Daily. 2. "7 Wastes of Lean Manufacturing," Lean Manu- facturing Tools. Ronald C. Lasky is an instruc- tional professor of engineer- ing for the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, and senior technolo- gist at Indium Corporation. To read past columns, or contact Lasky, click here. Download The Printed Circuit Assembler's Guide to… Solder Defects by Dr. Ronald C. Lasky. You can also view other titles in our full I-007eBook library here. Figure 2: If BE buys Ivy Electronics, they will have to purchase a new stencil printer like this one within six months.