Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1541985
62 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2025 As far as implementing automa- tion, the hardest step is getting started, which I know all too well, as I have designed and built almost nine automated PCB factories and a dozen more automated process factories. When you are creating a smart factory, focus on who should design it, what they need to learn, how to analyze and plan the auto- mation, how long it will take, when is the right time, and how much will it cost. To familiarize yourself with digiti- zation and smart factories, I recom- mend an article from Deloitte Insights1 and a white paper² from the Global Electronics Association. In both, you will learn: • Rapidly increasing technological demands • Increased supply chain complexity and global fragmentation of production and demand • Growing competitive pressure from unex- pected sources • Organizational realignments from the mar- riage of IT/OT and IoT • Ongoing talent challenges Planning Methodology The first link in planning your smart factory is the human link. The high-level objectives are: 1. Commitment to achieving some of the smart factory goals. 2. Selecting the right team. 3. Providing additional team training. 4. Analyzing and benchmarking current pro- cesses. 5. Thinking long-term but starting small. 6. Compensating appropriately for success. You must have a thorough knowledge of the manufacturing process, equipment, and materials. Current employees are the experts and can become the plant's automation architects. The training is not complex, and experienced maintenance techni- cians typically possess most of the skills required to plan and execute automation, with additional train- ing needed in some cases. Automation Early in my career, I discovered that automation is based on a thorough understanding of the process, and particularly the work cell. The second require- ment is a methodology that breaks down all the work cell's actions and information into simple levels. Figure 1 illustrates that a work cell and auto- mation can be broken down into two vectors: mech- anization and systemization. Automation Methodology The simple automation methodology (Figure 1) has six levels of systemization and six classes of mechanization. The method is the total time spent on information retrieval and control settings by humans and machines. The same method is used to evaluate the mechanization: how long the human spends at the work cell vs. the total time spent (human + machine). Figure 1: Automation planning methodology. H A PPY ' S T EC H TA L K #4 5 ⊲