Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1463464
32 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2022 ular jobs, and then aligning your workforce to the highest level of optimized output based on that. Is that what you do? Kottke: In the stockroom, for example, if you have nine people doing a job, you can review; see the average, high, and low; go back and tie defects to it; and very soon, you know who to retrain and who to reward. We have these KPIs that come out every week on different depart- ments highlighting where we are and aren't improving, who the weak links are, and who gets the bonus program. Matties: Obviously you're investing a lot into your new facility. How long did it take to build that factory? Kottke: We had it operational in about six months. We did it in stages and it has done so well. We started with logistics, followed by system integration and SMT, and now they're building full products in Carson City. Johnson: Full products in Carson already? How would you describe the experience of building out a greenfield site with Voyager at the cen- ter of it? Kottke: It was so fantastic to set up a site and have all the process control in place. We moved up a couple people from Santa Clara, trained them, dropped Voyager in place, and had com- plete monitoring of the process from the very beginning. It was amazing how quickly and eas- ily it went up; it almost makes me feel like I know what I'm doing when it comes to a greenfield. Johnson: You now have a huge lake of data, and you are doing some sophisticated, AI style analysis. at work is obviously having a posi- tive effect on your business practices. It must be a monumental task to figure out how to turn that data into analysis and predictions. Kottke: If you had told me two years ago that I would spend a lot of money hiring a busi- ness intelligence group, I would've said you're crazy. Now, I'm likely to say, "Can we make the BI group bigger?" because they're doing exactly what you're suggesting. I can ask them to look at a process, and they come back with wide eyes, saying, "Hey, did you know this?" or, "You're right, I saw this problem." We talk about it, and I say, "No, really? Is it really that number?" It's crazy what we find when we take a deep dive into the data. Matties: Oentimes I refer to needing a logis- tics expert—Voyager aside, of course—in busi- ness. ey don't have to be a content expert, or know how to assemble boards, they just need to understand logistics. If you want to start the Factory of the Future, the first place is with what you have now with the help of a logistics guy to get a benchmark and build from there. Kottke: Everyone laughs when I say Factory of the Future is really the guy who's smart enough to figure out what he's doing wrong. Because whether the answer is to put in this automa- tion or change that process, having the data is the only way you're going to be able to figure it out. Matties: In Factory of the Future, what's the key measure? Is it the greatest level of output We have these KPIs that come out every week on different departments highlighting where we are and aren't improving, who the weak links are, and who gets the bonus program.