Training to relieve production bottlenecks.

(Broaden your skills matrix). 

You know how it goes: you have the monthly production plan all laid out. Then one of your core customers wants their delivery brought forward by three weeks. Then another core customer puts an Engineering Change Note through and asks you to modify the batch that’s just been through SMT on its way to final assembly, pending up-issue on the next order.   

What do you do? 

The problem isn’t chip-shooting capacity - you can place SMT parts all day and night so long as you have the stock. No, the problem is people; properly skilled people in the right place at the right time to carry out the second and third stage hand-assembly. Then to process it through test and inspection to despatch.   

The ability to re-deploy your staff is limited by how well trained they are. Flexibility can be built into your operation with a properly configured training strategy. Look at the problem ; 

• Review your skills matrix. Think what happened in the holiday period ; where have you had bottlenecks before and struggled to meet a delivery date at full quantity? How vulnerable are you to one key person going off sick and stalling output because their colleague (the only other one trained to do it) is needed in test? 
• Review your customer history. Often you can almost anticipate what is coming from customers you know well ; the rush following a trade show, the seasonal or year-end demand for products that caught you out last year.   

• Review pending new technologies arising from a prototype order you just received : sooner or later you are going to have to push a production batch through. Can you do that? Are you equipped and just as importantly, do you have staff trained to do that at high yield? 
• Minimise rejects and rework. This is often the result of being caught between the metaphorical “rock and a hard place” with a rush order. The temptation of taking a chance and deploying staff who are very reliable but aren’t really experienced at the job, to overcome the bottleneck. This backfires with rejects generated, and then you have to redeploy more staff in order to fix that! 

The answer is training.  

You can plan to meet and overcome demand fluctuations. You can keep your core customers delighted and coming back to you, to the competition’s dismay.  

Using the steps above, you should work out where your weaknesses are and upgrade your skills matrix. Consistent industry-standard training is readily available from companies such as ART: Core training for Printed Circuit assembly such as IPC-A-610, which is the most widely used standard published by IPC, covering industry-generated end product acceptance criteria for consumer and high-reliability assemblies. Topics covered in the certification of your operators will be the training and examination of their proficiency at all types of hand soldering usingJ-STD-001, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronics Assemblies.  Should the need for rework or repair arise, technicians can be certified to IPC 7711/7721, Rework, Modification and Repair of Printed Assemblies.  Using this industry approved and globally certified training model means you will have the confidence that the certified operators have been given an industry-developed skillset and can be re-deployed onto critical jobs with confidence.  

Other common skill certifications you should consider are IPC/WHMA-A-620, for cables and wiring looms: again, an industry-generated standard, raised in conjunction with the Wiring Harness Manufacturers Association. Furthermore, IPC-A-600, Acceptance of Bare Printed Boards can be used to ensure every stage of your process has met the requirements as an assistance in maintaining your process control. 

Justification. 

“But it all adds cost, and I don’t see the justification…” 

Training costs money. However, generating unnecessary rejects and scrap costs you much more: operator time pressure (rework needed), Quality department time, a delay to the shipment, and customer confidence in your company put in question.  

Longer term, it is proven that reworked product is more likely to fail in the field than first time-right (and ‘come back to bite you’ as a field failure warranty, six months from now). 

What does it cost? 

ART deliver courses online or in person, to groups or if you wish to individuals. Further, we can ‘train a trainer’ instead, probably one of your best operators, so you can have your own in-house resource if you wish and can train whoever you like when it suits you.

Reputational benefits for your company. 

When your next round of Supplier Quality Audits are conducted by your key customers, they will see the resilience you have built in, and you can benefit from that confidence and the ongoing commitment from them which it brings. 

For more information visit our website Advanced Rework Technology. Our offering also includes bespoke training courses created for a specific need (a special case or a new technology) within your company.  

Alternatively you can drop us a call on 01245 237083 or submit an enquiry through our online contact form.