Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/845602
82 The PCB Magazine • July 2017 niques were reviewed. The results of a study by Mikel J. Harry, PhD (the father of 6 Sigma) pro- vided food for thought with the audience. Dr. Harry did a benchmark study of U.S. manufac- turing companies, and found that that the av- erage sigma level in the U.S. is between 3.5 and 4 sigma. This means that the average company is spending 25% of their revenue on the Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ). And remember who is paying for this: your customers. So, no mat- ter how good you think (or tell your customers) you are, there is plenty of room for improve- ment. I ended with a remarkable stat: Foolishly trying to "inspect in quality" by sorting has a greater impact on profit than: • Raising prices on your product • Hammering your suppliers for lower costs • Most any other traditional profit enhancement initiatives Conclusion These types of events are sorely needed in our industry, and critical for us to remain at the forefront of technology to support our custom- ers. I look forward to seeing the Reliability Fo- rum gaining momentum as it becomes an an- nual must attend industry event. I'll close with a quote from the forum's driving force, Sanjay Huprikar, when I asked Sanjay about the moti- vation for developing this event: "There is a real urgency in the electronics in- dustry to put practical methodologies in place to improve reliability and this year's IPC Reli- ability Forum focused on processes and mate- rials for long-term reliability. From the keynote presentation that provided an insider's perspec- tive on the how product reliability is important for good business to the presentations on de- sign for reliability, collision of quality and re- liability requirements, the physics of failure, military requirements for reliability, and more, the event provided attendees with new strate- gies they were able to take back and implement right away." PCB Steve Williams is the president of The Right Approach Consulting LLC. To read past columns, or to contact Williams, click here. REVIEW OF THE 2017 IPC RELIABILITY FORUM At the recent NEPCON China event in Shanghai, Anthony Ambrose, president and CEO of Data I/O Corp., speaks with I-Connect007's Stephen Las Ma- rias about the cybersecurity challenges facing the electronics manufacturing industry, amid the pro- liferation of connected devices and the Internet of Things. Also discussed—traceability and security strategies to protect the electronics manufacturing supply chain. Stephen Las Marias: Please tell us about your company. Anthony Ambrose: Data I/O are the worldwide lead- er in programming solutions for manufacturing. We put the firmware and security solutions into the prod- ucts that everybody uses every day. Things like cell- phones, automotive electronics, Internet of Things. We are headquartered in the United States, with a very large operation in Shanghai. Las Marias: Cybersecurity is one of the biggest is- sues facing the electronics manufacturing industry, especially with the proliferation of connected facto- ries and the IoT. How are you helping customers ad- dress that issue? Ambrose: You are right—cybersecurity is a big issue. The problem is worldwide in scope, across all sorts of products. Companies are turning to more secured solutions, both with products that are authentication chips or secure microcontrollers, which allows cus- tomers to secure their production, secure their sup- ply chain much more effectively, and control and se- cure their firmware and maintain firmware integri- ty throughout the life of the product. This is really a breakthrough announcement in security for pro- gramming solutions. We are very pleased with part- nering with Renesas. To read the full interview, click here. Data I/O on Securing the Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain