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16 The PCB Design Magazine • May 2014 they are all capable of achieving similar benefits from the use of these same Lean NPI flow and tools, no matter how mainstream or niche their business may be. Introduction The first company, which we'll call "ABC Electronics," is an OEM company in the au- tomotive segment in Europe, with just one main manufac- turing site. The company's core mission statement re- volves around brand image and quality, with a focus on elimination of safety-critical issues. Demand for increased flexibility from their main customer, a luxury car maker, is putting significant pressure on internal operations, with more product variations, and shorter lead-times. There is an increasing risk as new play- ers are coming into the mar- ket, driven by the growth of electronics manufacturing in the automotive sector. The plan is to expand and take on the challenge of new tech- nologies, creating a potential doubling of capacity over the next two years. The question is how to effectively advance in terms of size and flexibility, but still be in control of quality, to avoid any potential disastrous recall scenarios. This has driven the need to look at removing the expensive overhead and burden of new product introduction, while eliminating as much of the seemingly random and human errors as possible. The second company that we will look at, "Wang Electronics," is an example of a third- tier mainstream contract manufacturer (EMS provider) with three manufacturing sites across China. This company prides itself on being able to make anything for anybody, anytime, if the deal is right. The core mission statement is to act quickly and strongly to win opportunities away from the competition, so as to grow the business into becoming a Tier 2 company with- in three years. Responsiveness is critical to be able to provide a price and delivery schedule in a very short time back to the customer. Doing business in this way, however, has already exposed unexpected costs and risks based on is- sues from incomplete or in- adequate design in terms of capability or compatibility issues in production. Legacy New Product Introduction For ABC Electronics, the introduction of a new prod- uct follows a well-established internal flow. First, the prod- uct is designed, electrically and mechanically, to meet the required specification, followed by the layout of the circuit board, including selection of materials. The emphasis is on quality, cost, reliability, and performance. Manufacturing optimiza- tion is a secondary consid- eration, even though issues with designs have caused sig- nificantly increased costs for production. Although design and manufacturing in this compa- ny are physically close, the gap in time and technology means that useful communication between de- sign and manufacturing has been difficult to achieve. The PCB layout designer is a specialist at what he does and often has no knowledge or experience in manufacturing. He is measured on the performance of products and time- based goals related to completing the designs. The designer just follows standard design rules within his layout tool, which are thought to be as much as can be done to make the design a success. This process doesn't, however, include significant qualification for manufacturing. The company's legacy NPI process flow includes feature THE LEAN NPI FLOW continues There is an increasing risk as new players are coming into the market, driven by the growth of electronics manufacturing in the automotive sector. The plan is to expand and take on the challenge of new technologies, creating a potential doubling of capacity over the next two years. The question is how to effectively advance in terms of size and flexibility, but still be in control of quality, to avoid any potential disastrous recall scenarios. " "