IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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26 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2026 T H E C H E M I CA L C O N N ECT I O N BY D O N BA L L , C H E M C U T I n an ideal world, every operator would under- stand the process they are working on and be able to diagnose problems and suggest improvements. In the real world, however, we all know that these types of people are, if not rare, at least in the minority. Where do these people fit in when everyone is turning to automation and AI for quality and yield improvements and cost reduction? (Never lose sight of the fact that, in the end, it's al- ways about the money.) In my opinion, these people are valuable resources, and every effort should be made to retain them, regardless of their education level or seniority. During my career, I've had the privilege (mostly) of visiting dozens of PCB manufacturing sites, good, bad, or indifferent, and have formed the opinion that how these facilities treat their empowered operators is a sign of how good or bad that facility is. Here are some examples. Examples of the 'Good' Just a few months ago, I participated in a video con- ference with a smaller shop that was looking to add some automation to its cupric etch system. They had a basic etcher that depended on an expe- rienced operator to keep the system running. He was the type of guy who was continuously moni- toring the specific gravity, ORP, and free acid levels, etc., to make sure they stayed within the optimal operating parameters and was trusted enough to do this with minimal supervision. That operator was in the video conference along with the process engineer and plant manager, which, to me, was a good sign of a good shop. After we had come up with a system that met their needs and price range, I pointed to the operator and said, "Whatever you do, don't get rid of this guy. The automated system is good, but it still needs direct supervision." The manager said, "Oh no, the plan is that, since he doesn't need to be constantly moni- toring the etch chemistry, we promote him to super- vising the whole DES operation so our process engineer can spend less time there and work on other problems." That, in my opinion, is exactly how it should work. Another time, I went to a facility to help with a process problem and was left to solve the problem Employee and Operator Empowerment in the Age of AI