Watch Judy Warner’s Podcast with Steve Williams discussing what OEMs, ODMs and contract manufactures should look for when touring a printed circuit board fabricator to separate the good from the bad. Williams’ take is based on 40 years in the business and his unconventional insights may surprise you.
Watch the Podcast here: https://resources.altium.com/altium-podcast/what-to-look-for-in-a-board-fabricator-with-steve-williams
Check out my interview with Prototron’s Mark Thompson on his new FREE eBook for PCB designers and OEMs called “Producing the Perfect Data Package”.
Watch it here https://lnkd.in/dWxpRh9
Click the Video tab & enjoy
PRESS RELEASE
The Right Approach Consulting
April 1, 2019
Franklin Park, IL
United Electronics Corporation receives ISO 9001: 2015 Certification
I am proud to announce that client United Electronics Corporation has received certification to ISO 9001: 2015 from registrar Intertek. The company has a strong quality history from many years of certification to prior revisions of the standard, and the upgrade to 2015 was extremely smooth. Quality Manager Raj Govani, Engineering Manager Shan Nadarjah and the entire UEC team were highly engaged and instrumental in the success of the process.
About United Electronics Corporation, from owner Ramesh Patel:
United Electronics understands your technical challenges. Whether you need quick prototypes, a cost-effective solution for your flex, rigid-flex, mixed dielectrics or our metal clad PCB’s, we have the experience, the people and the technology to meet these challenges. We compete in time and must go beyond our current boundaries to provide competitive PCB’s and services outside what is considered normal service.
We pride ourselves with a unique global capability and can manufacture printed circuit boards on virtually any substrate. any size, and any shape. Technology types include RF/Microwave printed circuit boards, rigid printed circuit boards, metal clad boards, flex, and rigid-flex circuits.
We have several patented materials which augment our Thermal Management Solutions offerings.
For more information go to http://unitedel.com
Contact me for all of your QMS needs.
Steve@tracQMS.com
920-841-3478
A customer has an expectation of consistency in product quality, delivered on time, and at a fair and competitive price. A business owner has an expectation of making a profit through satisfied customers. A properly implemented SPC program can dramatically increase the degree of success in meeting these synergistic expectations. Companies tend to be extremely protective when it comes to sharing their dirty laundry with customers, with the “unenlightened” being the most resistant.
Statistically-challenged companies have argued everything from a flat-out “We don’t believe in SPC.” to “Our customer return rate is very low, so why do we need SPC?” The answer is really quite simple: 
In addition to the performance related issues that reach a customer like late delivery and defective product, the cost of inefficiencies in any process are directly passed along to the customer in some form. Scrap (or overrun to cover anticipated scrap), rework and inefficient processing are factored into the pricing model, so the lower the efficiency, the higher the total cost to the customer. And as we all know, “It’s always about the dollars.”
Early in my career a wise old mentor told me “Steve, never argue about what can be measured.” Being an engineer by trade and German by lineage, he knew a little about precision craftsmanship. This advice has stuck with me, and in the quest for continuous improvement has translated into “How can we get better if we don’t know where we are now?” followed by “How can we know where we are now without metrics?” An effective SPC program should be a key metric of continuous improvement and a valuable part of your QMS.
Give me a call to help turn your QMS into a competitive advantage!
920-841-3478
Many companies get caught in data traps. They focus so heavily on cost and survival that they end up using data as merely a marketing and sales tool. In doing so, they fail to realize the true power of data: It can transform every aspect of a business.
A recent survey by iConnect007 revealed just how important data is to our industry, and also just how difficult it is to get accurate, actionable data to drive our businesses. The key takeaway from printed circuit executives was that their greatest need is accurate, real-time process data. When you apply process metrics and dashboards to your data tools, data can not only drive improvement, it can drive innovation. Companies struggle with data; how to get it, is it the right data, is it accurate, is it automated or a manual process? This is where using statistical analytics can help any business to improve their business, and not just in manufacturing but also in areas like your customer and employee hiring processes.
Data should never be pigeonholed or feared. Instead, it should be used to better understand your company. By breaking down the silos that exist within your organization you will generate new perspectives, ideas and performance levels as departments begin to measure their performance against the new metrics. Did you just realize that your company has fallen into a data trap? Luckily, it’s easy to break free from its chains, and using statistical data will reveal just how efficient and innovative your business can be.
Give me a call to help turn your QMS into a competitive advantage!
920-841-3478
The first thing we need to get straight is that a Quality Management System (QMS) is actually a Business Management System (BMS). Your Quality Management System will encompass every business process from quoting through shipping (and after sale service), so the QMS is not a “quality thing”, it is an “everyone thing”. I occasionally run into companies that still have the attitude of “we are only doing this to satisfy ISO, there is not much value to the company.”
This is wrong-headed thinking on so many levels.The true benefits of an ISO system are that it should be used to run the business. 
The process metrics established for ISO should be discussed at every production and managers meeting. Internal audits should be used to improve every process on an ongoing basis. Customer feedback should drive organizational improvement, and so on. In fact, I would be hard-pressed to find a single requirement of ISO that just doesn’t make good business sense.
The ISO powers that be have emphasized this point with the 2015 revision by requiring top management to be fully engaged in the entire system and not just their own sandbox. This is a good thing.
Give me a call to help turn your QMS into a BMS!
920-841-3478
Williams’ Law 10
The more “wins” you can bank with an auditor/customer, the greater the chance they will write-off a negative observation as an “isolated anomaly”.
Conversely…
The more “findings” an auditor/customer identifies, the deeper they will dig in all subsequent areas.
The key to reversing an auditor’s QMS audit finding is on-the-spot corrective action. Responsive, ultra-prompt action is required as well as the aforementioned political savvy of the Management Representative in administering the techniques discussed below.
Page Swap
A Page Swap is a technique that can be employed to correct minor mistakes or omissions in a procedure. This technique is perfectly legal as long as there is a Page Swap clause in the Document Control procedure outlining the rational and rules for its use.
If an error and/or omission is identified by an auditor, utilizing the Page Swap technique to immediately correct the error and present the auditor with a corrected procedure before he/she finishes the audit will generally result in a non-finding.
Situations that allow a Page Swap:
Instant Procedure Revision
On-the-spot procedure revisions are the reason that key employees and procedure signatories must be present and available for all major audits and customer visits. The ability to rapidly change, approve and distribute a procedure revision in reaction to an auditor’s finding will be the difference between a formal finding and a clean audit.
If you missed any of the prior Guerrilla Tactics you can find them all at https://tracqms.com/blog/.
Contract me to start our Guerrilla Training before your next audit.
Steve: 920-841-3478
Steve@tracQMS.com
A little good news as we head into the holiday season, and a break from all the QMS stuff, continuing with my GBU human interest stories that highlight folks that have made both exceptionally fortuitous decisions, as well as those that will never be inducted into the Good Decision Hall of Fame. I hope you enjoy them.
The Good: Palmer Luckey created Oculus VR, acquired by Facebook for $2 billion
A few years ago, Palmer Luckey became the latest college dropout to strike it rich. He created a virtual reality headset called the Oculus Rift, which was a Kickstarter sensation, raising $2.5 million from the crowdfunding site in 2012.
His device then went on to attract big names in the gaming industry, grew into a 50-person company and raised another $91 
million in venture funds, including backing from Andreessen Horowitz. (Marc Andreessen is also on the board of Facebook.)
Luckey was a self described “electronics enthusiast and maker” since high school, but he never formally studied tech. He was home schooled as a child, started taking college classes as a teen, and eventually enrolled in California State University Long Beach to pursue a degree in journalism, before dropping out to found Oculus.
Contact me right away to see how I can help you keep your quality system in the Good category, and avoid descending into the Bad and Ugly.
920-841-3478
Steve@tracQMS.com
Spurred by Foxconn and other area development, an electrical equipment supplier will build a 134,000-square-foot distribution center in Sturtevant.
August 12, 2018
The USA TODAY NETWORK
Foxconn Technology Group’s planned construction of a $10 billion manufacturing complex in Mount Pleasant is sparking further development in the area. The latest: Crescent Electric Supply Co., one of the country’s 10 largest distributors of electrical hardware, plans to build a 134,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Sturtevant.(Photo: Dreamstime/TNS, TNS)
Spurred by the Foxconn project and other planned development in the region, an electrical equipment supplier plans to build a 134,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Sturtevant.
Crescent Electric Supply Co. hopes to start building the warehouse this fall in the Renaissance Business Park. The firm bought an 11-acre site there in April for $575,000.
Crescent will add 10 employees to run the new facility, which it expects to substantially finish next spring.
“Obviously that (employment number) will grow depending on how fast the business model grows,” said Mark Rizzetto, vice president of strategy, economic development and realty for Crescent.
Foxconn Technology Group is building a large manufacturing complex in Mount Pleasant.
Crescent initially will use 46,000 square feet of the Sturtevant warehouse and lease the rest. Rizzetto said the company already has one “very serious prospect,” and he expressed confidence that all of the space will be taken by the time the building opens.
Sturtevant’s Planning Commission gave the project conceptual approval this past week.
Crescent, with 2,000 employees, describes itself as one of the country’s largest independent distributors of electrical hardware and supplies. The company operates 165 distribution centers in 28 states, supplying gear to customers such as manufacturers and building contractors, Rizzetto said.
Rizzetto, who oversees development for Crescent nationwide, said the amount of development activity now occurring in southeastern Wisconsin is exceptional.
“The growth is just exponential. … There is a lot going on,” he said.
Among developments are the plans of Advocate Aurora Health to build a $250 million hospital and medical office building in Mount Pleasant, and those of rival healthcare provider Ascension Wisconsin for a $42 million medical center in Mount Pleasant. Other projects, including at least two new hotels, have been announced in the area as well.
Give me a call to join the revolution!
920-841-3478
What if I told you that you could remove cyanide from your process, eliminate black pad and deliver a quantum improvement in solder joint reliability to your customers? Oh, and by the way, you would save 40% of your nickel gold cost. Have I got your attention? I thought so.
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Kunal Shah, founder and chief scientist of LiloTree. Dr. Shah was approached by leading OEMs to develop a solution to improve electronic assembly reliability, and his ENIG Premium is the groundbreaking result.
Working with Dr. Shah over the past six months I have studied the research, white papers and test results and can tell you that this is the real deal. I believe that this will change the way our industry plates gold. You can watch my interview with Dr. Shah at this year’s IPC/APEX conference in San Diego at the following link:
http://realtimewith.com/page/show/104/4525
For more information and to get ahead of the curve on this product, just contact myself or Dan Beaulieu at the below contact info:
Steve: 920-841-3478
Dan: 207-649-0879
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