Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1523387
JULY 2024 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 27 Matties: When your customers come for factory tours, how important is it for them to see those certifications? Do they ask to see them? ey don't necessarily ask, but they will see them right when they walk through there. ey get really curious when they see all those certifications on the wall; they want to know more. It shows we are serious about what we do. Johnson: What about opportunity cost? Quotes that require certifications mean that if you don't have the necessary certifications, you're guaranteed a loss. You are correct. In plain-vanilla contract manufacturing, it's not as important. But what about when you get high-level drawings from folks like Lockheed and Raytheon, or you get a statement of work (SOW ) that clearly states a requirement to build to IPC Class 3 standards? If you don't have that certification, you build it anyway, and if it doesn't meet the specification, it probably won't work out for you. We are a Class 3-certified facility; we're an IPC-1791 trusted source. It's a huge investment any way you look at it, but it does give us the ability to quote on these high-level projects. If you can meet the criteria on the SOWs, that's a good starting point. If you can't even start to meet that criteria, you probably won't even see a quote in the first place. Mil-aero folks know who does what, how they do it, and who's qualified to do the work. Johnson: It's a two-tiered approach: You have a certification companywide, but you build that up by having a sufficient level of certified individual staff. Correct. Now, could anybody pass? No. You could go through the IPC-1791 qualification and cybersecurity certification and have all that in place. But if the rest of the staff is not on board, then what's the point? You can have the ship, but if nobody knows how to sail it, then it doesn't really matter. Johnson: How do you track it? There's the wall of certifications, and you have a CIT onsite. What about all the individuals for whom certifications need to be tracked and managed? We keep them in a database, we know when they expire, and we schedule the training in advance. We don't do it individually because it's cost- prohibitive to bring in a trainer to test one person. We did our recertification last July, and we usually recertify every other summer. For IPC -J-STD-001 and IPC -A-600, everyone has to get recertified ever y t wo year s. We track it like you would track anything else. Johnson: Who do you use for that sort of training? We use Verion, a training center based in the Dallas area. I talked to STI in Houston, and they would travel to Dallas to train, but they charge a certain price per individual. Whomever you use, you're getting the same certification. ere are certification centers all over this country, and they will travel to your facility, which makes it easier than trying to take people out of their element to train for two days. We like to cycle students through onsite training, so the production floor does not really stop. Johnson: What other factors beyond prices distinguish the training providers? Do you see it as a commodity? It really is a commodity. ey must use IPC training materials, testing, and certifications, which IPC provides. e training centers facilitate the training per the IPC specifications. You can have the ship, but if nobody knows how to sail it, then it doesn't really matter.