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82 SMT Magazine • May 2014 An effective test plan provides the shortest path to defect detection and correction. Signifi- cant impacts to process are caused when test/ inspection are used as final verification only and drive higher level troubleshoot and repair loops that could otherwise have been avoided/ minimized. Where do you think the test/inspection equipment segment is headed? What new tech- nologies are coming online? One of the trends we are seeing is in the introduction of targeted test solutions for cer- tain segments. AOI machines dedicated to UV for testing conformal coating applications are a good example. Stand-alone plug-ins for ICT that address memory and flash applications would be another. We also see the next generation of combina- tion units, AOI and X-ray for example, appear- ing on the market as the industry continues to improve cost and reduce cycle times. Finally, we are seeing more holistic coverage tools which help deliver better test optimization solutions. All of these areas are of interest to SMTC. How do you see the EMS industry perform- ing this year? What opportunities and chal- lenges are you expecting? Overall, the EMS industry continues to grow, and we see many opportunities with first-time outsourcers in many new market seg- ments. We are seeing more opportunities to provide a broader range of services to our cus- tomer base. Product design, DFX and function- al test development are areas of note in addi- tion to our more traditional work around ICT development, alternate sourcing, and other val- ue proposals we make to our customers. We are also seeing a lot of interest in having products manufactured in Mexico. What strategies has SMTC put in place to address EMS industry challenges? We have added a strong design and func- tional test presence through our partnership with Idneo, a world-class development team based in San Jose, California, and Europe. We also continue to scale our operations in Chihua- hua, Mexico, with plans to add more capability in metal fabrication, PCBA, and industry certi- fications. We will be adding TS16949 to support automotive customer for example. Finally, please enlighten us on some of your plans for this year. As always, it begins with holding effective technology roadmapping sessions with our customers and we will continue to do that this year. On the assembly side, we are implement- ing more PoP capability across our operations network, moving to halogen-free chemistries, placing ever larger BGAs, ever-smaller chips (01005s), and enhancing our configure-to-order offering. In test, we will be enhancing our test analy- sis and coverage optimization tools to identify and address redundancy to provide more cost- effective test solutions. Finally we will also be making a significant upgrade to our factory operations software package, which will allow customers better access to production and test information and enhance our product trace- ability capabilities. SmT THE FUTURE oF TEST continues feATuRe Steve brown is vice president, quality and engineering for SMTC. he is responsible for overseeing SMTC's global qual- ity management system and technology roadmap develop- ment and implementation.