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September 2016 • The PCB Magazine 71 2. The precise work sequence in which an op- erator performs tasks within takt time. 3. The standard inventory, including units in machines, required to keep the process operating smoothly. Standardized work, once established and dis- played at workstations, is the object of continuous improvement through kaizen. The benefits of stan- dardized work include documentation of the current process for all shifts, reductions in variability, easier training of new operators, reductions in injuries and strain, and a baseline for improvement activities. New Example of Lean for Printed Circuit Fabrication [8,9] The new Whelen Engineering PCB factory LEAN MANUFACTURING in New Hampshire is an excellent example of Lean principles. In the process of automating the PCB flow and eliminating wastes, they pro- duced a facility with zero effluents, thus also being an excellent example of green! The two went hand-in-hand. Lower Costs by Eliminating Waste Simplifying the multilayer PCB manufac- turing process, as seen in Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4, eliminated 74 process steps but also the need for pre-clean and micro-etch process steps. Fur- ther reductions in waste were accomplished by implementing 17 actions as seen in Table 5 and Figure 3. The source for Tables 1−6 and Figure 3 is Reference #9. Table 3: Whelen Engineering's continuous O/L process steps. Table 4: Standard O/L process steps-manual.