IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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IPC COMMUNITY 23 SPRING 2023 John, please tell us a little about Summit Interconnect. Summit is the largest privately-held printed circuit board manufacturer in North Amer- ica, featuring eight highly integrated facilities, over one-half million square feet of advanced technology processing capability, and approxi- mately 1,300 employees. Why did Summit Interconnect decide to certify to IPC-1791? We operate in very compliance- and certifica- tion-driven markets, and we support a heavily DoD and military prime customer set. Our customers have very high expecta- tions in terms of Summit pro- tecting controlled unclas- sified information (CUI), supply chain risk m a n a g e - m e n t ( S CR M ) , chain of custody (CHoC), quality systems (AS 9100), ITAR/ EAR, and compliance to NIST 800-171. The IPC- 1791 audit and standard is focused on compliance to all these and our position on the IPC-1791 Qualified Manufactur- ers List (QML) as a Trusted Fabrica- tor gives our customers third-party assurance through the IPC Validation Services that Sum- mit meets specific criteria that are important to them. What is significant about the IPC-1791 standard? IPC-1791 is gaining widespread acceptance across the DoD as the de facto standard for Trusted Electronics Design, Fabricator and Assembler requirements. This is evidenced by: • The 2021 PrCB Executive Agent Report on DoD Access that states in part, "IPC-1791 addresses quantifiable assurance for printed circuit boards and should be mandated in defense acquisition policy." • The FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Section 224 "requires defense microelectronics products and services meet trusted supply chain and operational security standards." • The FY2021 NDAA Section 841 "applies S e c t i o n 2 24 of t he F Y 2 02 0 N DA A to covered printed circuit boards" and, in continuum, the most recent FY2022 NDAA Section 851 "applies NDAA FY2020 section 224 to covered printed circuit boards and assemblies." • The PrCB Executive Agent Con- gressional Response Summary that states, "IPC-1791 Trusted E l e c t r o n i c s D e s i g n e r, Fabricator and Assembler Requirements addresses a l l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s required in Section 224 for printed boards and assemblies." How does this certifica- tion differentiate Summit from other companies? In simplest terms, I believe it demon- strates to our customers that Summit "walks the walk" when it comes to certifying our operations to meet the most stringent require- ments for the products that we manufacture in support of our nation's warfighters. Please describe the experience of working with IPC's Validation Services department. Why would you recommend it to others? If you are in this industry long enough, you meet most of the key people across our indus- try. I would say, without reservation, that the IPC-1791 leadership team led by Randy Cherry John Vaughan