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58 SMT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2022 Happy Holden understands—getting started can be the hardest part. For the past 55 years, he has followed his passion for automation and computers by writing books and white papers, and engineering and managing projects. Each one has always meant one thing: finding the right place to start. In an upcoming ICT series of eight online ses- sions, Happy will introduce the topic of "Automation and the Journey to Your Smart Factory," by break- ing down the elements this type of journey requires, addressing the five W's, and encouraging study on your own. Each session is approximately 60 minutes, and is offered at 4:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Sept. 7 to Oct. 26. The webinars are based on Happy's books: 24 Essential Skills for Engineers and Automation and Advanced Procedures in PCB Fabrication. Happy Holden is a retired electronics manufacturing tech- nologist, contributing technical editor for I-Con- nect007, and a member of ICT. "The hardest step is getting started," Happy says of his past experiences. "I know; I have done this many times. I have designed and built nearly nine automated PCB factories and a dozen more pro- cess factories in my career, all automated by com- puters and the software that drives them." What he's learned is that your journey to build- ing a Smart factory must focus on who will design it, what they need to learn, how to analyze and plan the automation, how long it should take, when is the right time, and how much it will cost. "There are seven major topics to be addressed, with the primary one being to meet your company's business objectives," Happy says, adding that can be achieved by the following: • Company business objectives • Zero waste • Internet of Things sensors • Predictive analysis • Zero-defect manufacturing • Driving zero downtime • Create solution templates "Once you have the 'who,' then you need to give them time to learn some of the new tools and skills that will be required," Happy says. This is where he includes the two books he has written, as well as other book titles from I-Connect007, NIST, Siemens, and more. Once a company has decided to start a Smart fac- tory, Happy says implementing it requires a focus on three things: 1. Sensing: Collecting the data in real time 2. Connecting: Uniting different and unique data sources 3. Predicting: Using models to use the data for predicting the outcome of machine/process events for alerting operators, to predicting machine downtime for maintenance, to improving processes for high controlled impedance performance The ultimate goal of all this work, Happy says, is customer satisfaction and business success. He suggests first looking at predictive analytics, which will drive you to zero downtime and your quality to zero defects. This can be done by improving overall equipment effectiveness by 5 to 10% gains, and low- ering costs through improvement in labor productiv- ity by 10 to 25%. Traditional methods of statistical process control, process monitoring, and OEE can be replaced with predictive process monitoring and control, provid- ing benefits that improve overall performance and the bottom line, he says. To register for the webinar, sponsored by the Insti- tute of Circuit Technology, visit instct.org or send an email to info@instct.org. This series of webinars is offered at no charge. You can register at any time during the eight weeks, and lectures will be available on-demand after each one is presented, for those who are registered. SMT007 ICT Webinar: Your Journey to a Smart Factory Presented by Happy Holden