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94 SMT Magazine • June 2014 the highest end of the market, where budgets were more generous, volumes were very small, and so line qualification and dedication did not make sense. The emphasis was placed instead on preparation and testing. Only automotive electronics manufacturing companies found themselves in a safety-critical, high-quality, high-volume market combined with cut-throat cost-competitiveness. Since the 1980s, information technology has moved on. Some attempts were made by au- tomotive manufacturing to embrace new opportunities, but because of the immature nature of computing technology and harsh environment of man- ufacturing, the idea of hav- ing computers working live on the shop-floor, although appealing compared to the legacy practices, did not be- come widely accepted. Un- reliable networks, computer crashes caused by memory leaks, home-grown software maintenance, data corrup- tion, and sudden data losses all contributed to those who remained steadfastly at- tached to the older tried and tested working practices. Automotive pretty much gave up on new technologies, a situation which persists to the present day, es- pecially as vendors of surface mount machines failed to agree on standards for shop-floor data transfer, choosing instead to use it as a competi- tive tool. In general for the industry, this lack of useful shop-floor data has presented a huge barrier for major players such as ERP or MES to be able to provide specific shop-floor process- related support. Outside automotive, much of the rest of the industry was on a parallel path, with only a few key companies willing to be the early adopters of integrated information tech- nology on to the manufacturing floor. So-called "point solutions," often provided by machine makers or developed internally within compa- nies, came and went and continue to do so in the majority of the market. With manufacturing so limited in terms of flexibility but with the customer having a free- dom of choice in specifying the car variations that they want, a very sophisticated method evolved to predict and optimize the demand and supply of key electronic systems, such that suppliers can be kept productive and com- petitive prices maintained, while retaining the quality ethic. For many years, the automotive electronics business has had the reputation of being very high risk, both in terms of quality issues and also financially. In only the last few years, however, as the trend for scope and complexity of electronics has continued to increase rap- idly, car makers and suppli- ers have been put into a very difficult position. A neces- sary relaxation of the specific automotive manufacturing qualification has been inevi- table, even though it is likely that such allowance opens up the scope of opportunity for defects to creep in and for human errors to occur. Is it OK to be Human? Millions of dollars lost in safety-related settlements would dictate that no allow- ances for error can be made. This specialized area of the electronics market can be responsible for significant loss of human life. Automotive electronics manufacturing has found itself in a position, in common to some extent with the rest of the industry, where something significant has to change. The lega- cy practices of process qualification need to be replaced with something that can provide the same degree of quality and reliability, which is at least as competitive, and has the flexibility to cope with the market needs. With opportunity fuelled by the growth in the market, automo- tive electronics are in the best position to once again take the lead to define the best practices for modern electronics manufacturing. Howev- er, to do this will require a significant change of the core operational practice. The eSSenTial pioneer'S SurViVal guide IS IT OK TO Be HuMAn? continues With opportunity fuelled by the growth in the market, automotive electronics are in the best position to once again take the lead to define the best practices for modern electronics manufacturing. However, to do this will require a significant change of the core operational practice. " "