Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1479191
84 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2022 customers, to help them understand design for manufacturability, and how to design so that their products would flow through the man- ufacturing floors of the prototype fabrication supplier. I was in an office that was right down the hall from those who were doing the work— the sales, the lamination, and selecting mate- rials. It gave me a holistic overview of every- one involved in the PCB fabrication indus- try. I made dozens of lasting relationships and widened my network. I know I can call on any of them for reference or to have a question answered. en I worked for an EMS provider and that opened my eyes to everything required for design for manufacturability and design for assembly. As a designer, I was able to see not only how my designs—which were sent to this company—were being assembled, but also to see hundreds of other customers' designs and how they were (or not) being assembled by this provider. e designs being sent to our suppli- ers are not oen able to be produced because of certain DFM, DFA, or DFX reasons. ey say the best way to learn is to teach. Now that I have the knowledge of what can and will go wrong, I can communicate back to our customers. We've created specifications and documentations so our customers can produce data and documentation that will help their products flow through our lines. It's another opportunity to communicate. Right now, I do work for EPTAC Corpora- tion, a company in New Hampshire that sup- plies IPC standards knowledge to our industry. ey train and teach design, soldering, man- ufacturing, assembly—all the specifications that make our industry run. at has given me the opportunity to meet hundreds of design- ers, soware engineers, and all walks of life in the electronics engineering industry. I've built many relationships in helping them to learn IPC and design standards. From a supplier standpoint, building closer relationships has to do with communication, the ability to share knowledge, and to recognize what needs to be shared. Johnson: Right. Obbviously you have custom- ers who are specifying to performance. One of the highest visibility areas of struggle in the past couple years has been component sup- ply chain and availability. What are some of the ways that you and your team are finding to work with your OEM type of customers more effectively? What has changed there? Dack: A lot has changed, but when we talk about building relationships, who are our cus- tomers? Our sales team has customers; our interoffice groups oen have customers. I like to say that anyone who relies on the deliver- ables that we provide are our customers. We need to make sure that we're communicating and receiving the right information to provide the appropriate communication. To do a bet- ter job, I've learned that, first, we must recog- nize our customers. Reach out, shake a hand, make eye contact, and introduce yourself so that your customers understand exactly what Kelly Dack