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68 The PCB Magazine • February 2014 tomer, taking the background research initia- tive and providing the utmost quality assurance to their needs. Dan: Can you elaborate on your work with the boards shops, and how you provide them with customer test services? Todd: Gardien provides quality assurance using one or more of our independent test facil- ities throughout North America and Asia. Our customers and partners can send their product to us to be tested and returned. We also pro- vide onsite service, where we actually perform the test services within their facility using our equipment or theirs. We effectively integrate into their manufacturing process. Dan: Tell me about your new column, "Test- ing Todd," which debuts in the March issue of The PCB Magazine. Todd: Dan, I can tell you that our industry is starving for information. Specifications change all the time and manufacturers can panic when trying to maintain compliance to the specifica- tions they need to build. Gardien supplies that. Whether it is IPC, ITAR or DLA, the Gardien Group strives to stay in front of the curve and provide our customers an absolute resolution. I strive to make sure we are compliant and I sit on committees regarding these specifications and requirements. Dan: what are some of the specific topics you will be covering in your columns? Todd: I want to be able to cover all things re- lated to electrical test. Feedback from our read- ers will provide ideas for future articles and I will continue to provide information around technologies and methods regarding ET. Dan: And who do you anticipate the reader to be? Todd: I would expect any quality manager or OEM to be reading. We take the time to re- view these requirements, debate them and also take our rebuttals to the IPC workshops. Dan: How about test department managers and even people working in test? I would think this would be something they would be inter- ested in as well? Todd: Absolutely. Understanding customer requirements, challenges with electrical test reading and understanding terminologies on the fab drawings are all subjects these people need to know. Dan: Todd, how do you see things in our industry right now, both in north America and globally? Todd: I think North America is in a rebound now after falling off a bit in the last few years. I'm seeing new growth in military and commu- nications. I think some of it is a concern to keep it in the U.S., and this is a good thing for our economy. Dan: I look at your business as a service of the future. Do you agree with that? Todd: Yes. As I see it, the requirements and specifications for new products are difficult to understand. I see companies like Gardien sup- plying this expertise to our OEMs and offload- ing the worry. We are experts and we spend a lot of time working with IPC, DLA and the DoD to make sure, regardless, that the OEM prints are within specifications to their build requirements. CONvERSATIONS wITH...GARDIEN'S TODD KOLMODIN continues