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70 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2023 Happy Holden has been an inspiration to me since I first met him at IPC APEX EXPO a few years ago. He is the father of the modern-day HDI PCB and former CTO at Foxconn. In his book, 24 Essentials Skills for Engineers, Happy highlights the most important and viable skills for an engineer's success. ese skills and traits are ones he saw most frequently throughout his career. ey matter for an engineer, no matter where they're at in their career, from a new hire to a project manager, and I'm excited to review the ones that have resonated with me the most. The Skill of Continuous Improvement e first skill I want to highlight is knowledge of TQC, Six Sigma, and statistical tools. Happy argues that the TQC model and statistical anal- My Review of Happy Holden's '24 Essential Skills for Engineers' ysis tools stand as a foundation for the modern engineer's skill set. Continuous improvement as expressed through a TQC model should be at the forefront of every engineer's mind. e TQC's model is to "continuously improve pro- cesses by incorporating the knowledge and experiences of workers," he writes. Two of TQC's most important factors include process improvement and employee empowerment, which arguably go hand in hand. When employees feel like they play a role in their organization, they are more likely to con- tribute to the success of that organization. On my team, we hold continuous improvements meetings for processes that may affect the way we collect data and prevent errors occurring in measurements. Happy writes brilliantly, "Mis- takes may be made by people, but most of them The New Chapter by Hannah Nelson, TEXAS INSTRUMENTS