Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493797
26 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2023 Hall: Our focus is always the safety of our employees first. If there's something that could be safer, whether it's ergonomic or poten- tial hazards, we want to automate that. Qual- ity comes next, of course. at is how we have always operated in our manufacturing, and we've brought that philosophy into this fac- tory as well. How will you respond if there is a major technology shift? Let's imagine that you suddenly realize you'll need to go in a new direction on the floor. For example, John, what if you need to go to additive? Hendrickson: Great question. We've designed certain entry points into our planning pro- cess, so we'd be able to do that without much interruption in our current process flow. Our process flow is nice and linear. If we were to transition to something like an additive pro- cess, our process or our product flow would just be a little bit different. We inject things in different places, which is part of how we designed the factory—we thought ahead. Also, we haven't filled this factory with everything we'll need 10 years from now. We plan on growing this building out over time, and with our growth curve, we will continuously look at current technology and make decisions on the appropriate equipment sets when we get to those stages in our development. Assembly Details You have equipment there for what you need now, but you have a road map for how new equipment should be added, swapped out, or evolved over that five- to 10-year period. You're anticipating where you think the technology changes will be. Is the planning on the assembly side similar? Hall: It would be very similar. What do you see as the upcoming technology challenges on the assembly side? What are you planning for? Does advanced packaging play a role here? Hall: at's an area we are constantly looking at in our manufacturing environments. Harrill: Something else that we enjoy with this vertical integration is that short feed- back loop, meaning constant feedback and a continuous scanning of the horizon for both risks and threats—but also for opportunity. at tight coupling with R&D, with our busi- ness intelligence units, with security teams, and our supplier quality and development teams—all that feeds into controlling these aspects of production. Are you doing this through a dedicated team task force style? This method sounds quite methodical and formalized. Harrill: It is formalized, and these are dedi- cated teams that work closely together, and we strive to communicate le, right, up, and down, in the same way that every organization does, but we take special care when doing that so we don't create information silos or surprises. We're always striving to have the right level of cross-team collaboration, and that's how we've been and will continue to be successful. It sounds like you've dedicated quite a bit of your attention to making sure that you are future proof. Harrill: We have to. is is something you don't necessarily see in other industries, but we have to keep it in mind because of the long lifespan of our products and the resilience Our focus is always the safety of our employees first.