IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1497169
IPC COMMUNITY 30 SPRING 2023 standard was first published in 2018 and the latest release, Revision B, was approved for publication in January 2023. Because this is an industry standard, electronics manufacturers continue to work with the DoD to maintain it and to address emerging security concerns. Since its release, the DoD has adopted IPC- 1791 as a standard available for use by program managers and procurement officers. But what does it mean to be adopted? It means that a stan- dard has been vetted by DoD offices and is suitable for meeting D o D r e q u i r e m e n t s . A d o p t i o n g i v e s t h e s t a n d a r d v i s i b i l - i t y through its inclu- sion on the DoD online A S S I S T d a t a b a s e , which is a repository for all standards approved or adopted under the Defense Standardization Program. DoD adoption of IPC-1791 was a significant step, but adoption does not place a mandate on its use. Today, IPC-1791 is not a requirement in the sourcing of defense electronics, which is likely to change in the future. The encouraging news is that in Section 841 of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Autho- rization Act, Congress mandated the develop- ment and implementation of trusted supply chain standards for PCBs just as the DoD had been tasked with regarding microelectron- ics. Developing supply chain standards for microelectronics has been a daunting chal- lenge marked with more than one reset, but the opportunity to move quickly on PCB and PCBA standards is ripe. After all, the DoD has already adopted IPC-1791; the only remaining challenge is promoting use of the standard across the DoD. While the DoD has not yet begun requiring IPC-1791 certification in its acquisition, many companies are already leveraging certifica- tion as a competitive advantage to win both defense and commercial business. This year, IPC is stepping up its advocacy on IPC-1791 in concert with our members and peer organizations. Our advocacy will seek to generate greater industry support for IPC-1791 and to leverage this support as part of our direct engagement with Con- gress and executive branch leaders. While IPC-1791 can be viewed narrowly as a standard and v a l i d a t i o n p r o - gram, IPC regards it as critical in the d e v e l o p m e n t o f a c o m m u n i t y t h a t constitutes the U.S. Defense Industrial B a s e f o r t r u s t e d P C B s a n d P C B A s . Once this community is defined, DoD is in a much better position to measure this com- munity's health and to steer support so that U.S. defense capability and capacity needs can be met by manufacturers. IPC-1791, in short, holds the promise to introduce much greater securit y to U.S. defense electronics, while also supporting U.S. industrial base goals. The hard work has been done, but realization of the IPC-1791 promise requires greater support from the DoD. To get more involved, contact Chris Mitchell, IPC Vice Presisent Global Government Relations, at: ChrisMitchell@ipc.org. ...many companies are already leveraging certification as a competitive advantage to win both defense and commercial business.