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JUNE 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 75 tions where it makes financial sense to invest in a Tier 1, even if they plan to do so eventually. Regarding security and cybersecurity, what do military contractors building defense products need to consider? From a security standpoint, there is both cyber- security and operational security (OPSEC). This is certainly germane for military contractors. But because co-design reduces overall development cycle time and time-to-market, increases reliability, and decreases total build cost, it will be a big driver for organizations like the military and medical OEMs. In fact, that's true for all high-reliability and Class 3 designs where co-design is the most beneficial. Even though they may not be built in high volumes, they have the greatest need to get designs right the first time. The Global Electronics Association is known for creating and implementing standards for the industry. Do you see co-design requiring its own standard? I don't believe that co-design necessarily needs its own separate standard. I think co-design will be most successful with more complete industry adop- tion of the existing standards tree, rather than just adopting the big three for design, fabrication, and assembly. The full standards tree includes the 2220 series for design, the 6010 series for fabrication, J-STD-001 for assembly, along with the 4000 series for materials, and the 2600 series for documenta- tion, among others, as well as new standards being developed around HDI and packaging." To have OEMs become familiar with, and adopt the entire spectrum of standards, is to really under- stand how the parts play together and interact with each other. That is where we will see the greatest benefit of the co-design approach to hardware and systems development. If companies want to seriously consider co-design, but don't have the ideal environment or tools to support it, what are some appropriate first steps? There are a couple of areas where a company can make some strides toward a more co-design- friendly ecosystem: technology and tactical busi- ness operations. If you don't have the Tier 1 ECAD and MCAD tools and integration links, you can approach co-design operationally and procedurally. Implement an in-house manual process with much more frequent passing of data back and forth. Even without full co-design implementation through software tools, most businesses use some form of product data management system, such as Teamcenter, Windchill, Doors, or SAP. This software can organize, control, and track product-related data throughout engi- neering, manufacturing, and operations processes. It acts as a central repository for product informa- tion and helps teams collaborate while maintaining version control and process consistency. Such systems allow for checking data in and out. You could implement a process, whether auto- mated or procedural, requiring engineers to check their data in at the end of each day or shift. It can then be reviewed by and between the various design elements as the design moves through. Things will be caught and fixed more quickly. From a technology point of view, even if you do not have a complete co-design environment through your CAD tools, make the most of the ECAD and MCAD tools you do have. They often have viewer versions or limited/light versions of their tools. You do need some cross-functional training in this scenario. But you can train your ECAD engineers on how to open, view, and do some measurements in the MCAD environment and vice versa, between all the different design tools and disciplines. Not only are you checking data in and out and synchronizing between the two teams more frequently, but you'll have fewer instances needing your ECAD engineer to track down your MCAD engi- neer to ask why they set this spacing between these two ribs of the enclosure in this specific area, etc. They can perform their measurements, analyses, and fit checks simultaneously without taking design time away from the engineer doing the actual engi- neering work. They will be more independent, and this will help the design process move more quickly. I like that. This has been really interesting and in- formational, Kristin. I look forward to watching this trend going forward. Great talking with you, Marcy. I-CONNECT007