Are We Best of the Best and Frequently Perfect?

Interesting thing about low volume manufacturing is that although the opportunity is there to be perfect, (zero defects on a 5 pc order is better than Six Sigma right?) unfortunately, so is the opportunity for disaster. One pin, on 1 IC, on 1 board out of 5 not soldered and depending on your history with the customer, (and very likely if its your first build) it might be find another vendor time!!

Situations that challenge perfection:

• Incorrect Bill Of Material
  
• Poor Silkscreen and/or drawing (missing designators, missing polarities)
  
• DFM issues with layout (solder mask, pin spacing etc..)
  
• ECN's / modifications
• Compressed delivery schedule
  

(Note: any of the above situations cause many starts and stops of the project. this, in and of itself can offer the opportunity for mistake)

This is not to say that the contract manufacturer will not offer the opportunity for mistake.

• Human error
• Less than optimum reflow profile
• Failure to interpret notes correctly (or ask)
• Pin 1 or Polarity Interpretation (diodes and IC's can have many confusing markings)

If you have a low volume, hi density board manufacturer who is perfect, I can promise you that that you have not completed enough builds to see or know otherwise. Here are some key questions an OEM needs to ask when selecting or de-selecting their source for electronics contract manufacturing:

Are they the "Best of the Best"? How is this gauged?

Are they "Frequently Perfect"? What challenges does the customer present to keep this from happening?

Do they respond effectively to feedback on defects and do they provide adequate root cause and corrective action?

Although the CM can always provide a corrective action, they are not in a position to change the root cause if its design related. Is the customer, or OEM receptive to DFM issues that are root cause for defects?

Is the CM dedicated to continuous improvement?

I can confidently answer Yes, to all of these questions, but hey, I own the company...What does my customer think?? We'd love to know!