Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1526666
SEPTEMBER 2024 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 73 the barcoding, this was pretty much a manual operation: a staff person, a computer, and a spread- sheet. We are saving so much time in production by always knowing exactly what is needed and when. We are more organized and more productive and that cuts lead times. We want to assemble these machines quickly, then get them tested and out to our customers. How does the system work logistically? Faraci: Basically, our machines are assembled just like laying up a circuit board. If you think about what our machines do, we're taking dif- ferent parts and putting them together to do a lay-up, but in our case instead of building a cir- cuit board, we have the different components to build a machine. It's the same concept. Based on that, we used the guts of our bar- coding and traceability soware in-house. ese specialty routines are written for us to use for tracking the parts, identifying which suppliers make those parts, and so on. e parts are coming in and being doled out to the different assemblies. It was all manual before. Now, each bay has a monitor that shows you what the machine is missing, what's still com- ing in, etc. Everything is right there. Ziomek: But a critical question we ask our- selves is, "What does this solve, and what does it provide to our customers?" e answer is that it allows us to keep our lead times. Every PCB manufacturer has experienced their equipment lead times being pushed out from what was committed. It is oen two, three, or even six months off the original commitment. I take pride in knowing that if we tell a customer there is a lead time of 12 to 14 weeks, we deliver 99% of the time because of how we've set up our shop and the advancements we've invested in. Of course, some things are out of our con- trol, but our customers appreciate our commit- ment and integrity to making the delivery schedules. Actually, it's kind of rare. We understand that for our customers, time is money. Have all the advancements and workflow fluidity streamlined and improved communication with customers? Faraci: Communication with our customers has always been para- mount for me and for DIS. I tell everyone who works for me that we all work in tech support and customer ser- vice. It's our main job. If someone calls here, a person answers the phone. If it goes to voice- mail, we are alerted, and someone will follow up. It's always been like that, but now we're even more efficient. We have a new phone sys- tem, and we use it as a tool to achieve even bet- ter communication. We are and always have been about customer support and answering the phone when it rings, no matter what time of day or night. We've also created a robust and streamlined email tech support tool and ticket system. When you submit a ticket, it gets assigned to a team, and tech support will start responding to it. If it needs to get handed off, all the notes and information are there for the next person to see. If a specific tech person is out of the office, someone always picks up the issue and takes care of it. Jesse, you've said a lot about the new facility, but what does it mean for your customers in the 23 countries you represent? Ziomek: First, we are here in this new facil- ity because of our customers. e core of our business is developing technology that helps customers resolve issues, improve quality and yields, and ultimately increase or safeguard revenue. We wouldn't grow if our customers and our technology didn't work. In the new facility, we have streamlined our manufacturing, added a support and service Jesse Ziomek