Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1543032
34 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2026 When we ask a task group to come together and work on a project, every idea and comment, no matter what it is, is addressed. Everyone's voice counts. So, no one working on a project should be hesitant. The energy that flows in a standards develop- ment task group is as unique as the project itself. Just as our best sports teams or the most accom- plished scientific teams do, we all share a vision and work together to achieve our goals. Teresa, what you do is very different than what we normally see in industry. I would like to gather the perspectives from your team. John, you've been working on standards for a long time. How have they changed over the years, and what does the future hold for standards? John Perry: For many years, our standards were largely developed by the North American aerospace and defense industry. Once industry began adopting our standards in place of MIL- SPECS, which were devel- oped by the U.S. Department of Defense, much of the early volunteer standards devel- opment participation was still from those defense and aerospace prime OEMs and they steered the direction of the standards to be largely written for military products. In the early years, several groups were dominated by OEMs, and consequently, the standards were often a collection of very stringent requirements that often proved difficult for fabricators to fulfill. Over the years, the group of participants has expanded to include more suppliers, including printed board fabricators, chemistry companies that manufactured surface plating solutions, and solder mask manufacturers. There's much more balance now in the standards task groups, with increased participation among commercial industries, includ- ing automotive, medical, rail, oil, and gas. I have also noticed a significant increase in participation from outside the U.S. We've always had a handful of volunteers from Europe and Asia on our committees, but that number has grown substantially in recent years. International volun- teers aren't just participating in our committees, they are often leading them, as well as some of the A-Teams within them. They're also being recognized in our award ceremonies, from Committee Member of the Year to the Golden Gnomes event that recognizes accomplishments by standards A-Teams. Orsi, would you walk us through the process of creating a standard, from recognizing a need or idea to publishing a document? Orsi Alis: The standardization process involves industry experts globally developing criteria for elec- tronics manufacturing, from design to rework, ensuring that standards are updated collaboratively to reflect the evolving needs of the indus- try. Each document under- goes a rigorous process, including a 30-day industry review followed by an addi- tional 30 days of balloting, before it is typeset and then released to the public. The working draft stage itself can take significantly longer—years, in some cases, especially on bigger documents. Often, A-Teams are formed to address action items and develop content efficiently. On any given day, more than 100 standards are currently being worked on, and they progress at varying speeds through the different phases. Of course, volunteer participation is encouraged, as there are opportunities for industry members to contribute at every stage of the process, including the initial drafting, review, or the balloting stages. Can you explain more about A-Teams? Alis: A-Teams are smaller groups that are formed within the volunteer groups, and they address specific action items within their knowledge base. John Perry, Director, Printed Board Stan- dards and Technology Orsi Alis, Project Coor- dinator, Standards and Translations