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70 SMT Magazine • September 2016 by Michael Ford MENTOR GRAPHICS Abstract Traceability has grown from being a special- ized need for certain safety critical segments of the industry, to now being a recognized value- add tool for the industry as a whole. The per- ception of traceability data collection howev- er persists as being a burden that may provide value only when the most rare and disastrous of events take place. Disparate standards have evolved in the industry, mainly dictated by large OEM companies in the market create con- fusion, as a multitude of requirements and defi- nitions proliferate. The intent of the IPC-1782 project is to bring the whole principle and perception of traceabil- ity up to date. Traceability, as defined in this standard will represent the most effective qual- ity tool available, becoming an intrinsic part of best practice operations, with the encourage- ment of automated data collection from exist- ing manufacturing systems, integrating quali- ty, reliability, predictive (routine, preventative, and corrective) maintenance, throughput, man- ufacturing, engineering and supply-chain data, reducing cost of ownership as well as ensuring timeliness and accuracy all the way from a fin- ished product back through to the initial mate- rials and granular attributes about the processes along the way. Having the proper level of traceability will also help ensure counterfeit components do not end up in a product. Through effective policing in the use of any and all components, any ma- terial found to be counterfeit will be immediate- ly traceable to source, and hence responsibility is assigned. IPC 1782 will work hand in glove with the U.S. Department of Defense's current counterfeit component effort. The goal of this project is to create a single flexible data structure that can be adopted for all levels of traceability that are required across FEATURE