I once heard the actor Tom Hanks – probably the first time he’s been referenced in these pages – describe a brain game he plays with friends. The challenge, he explained, is to define a concept in as few words as possible. The example he offered was “time,” which he characterized as “progress.”

Now, it’s easy to find physical and historical examples that disprove Mr. Hanks’ conceptualization.

More than a few readers probably studied physics in high school or college. Einstein’s relativity theory of time, of course, states that time changes depending on your frame of reference, and that the faster you travel the slower time moves.

And the ecologist and author Jared Diamond argues that there’s evidence some populations such as Austronesians began to use metal tools – an obvious improvement over rocks and bare hands – only to later shed them.

Much, much earlier, the Greek philosopher Aristotle surmised that change is distinct from time because change occurs at different rates, whereas time does not.

Where these ideas converge, however, is around the notion that progress means change.

To continue reading, please log in or register using the link in the upper right corner of the page.

When separation occurs, check the oven settings.

This month we look at printed circuit board delamination. As FIGURE 1 shows, delamination is barely visible on the surface of the board and confined to the area around through-holes and where the solder mask is cracking.

To continue reading, please log in or register using the link in the upper right corner of the page.

If time is money, getting to The Point is invaluable.  

Add “space" to the growing list of vandalized spoken English words.

As in, “We work in the AI space.”

Reminds one of workers beavering away in a corrugated shipping container with the letters “AI” stamped on the outside.
Or, “My career trajectory has symbiotic granularity with the ERP or IT or CRM space.”

What?

Are people who speak like this born this way or did they acquire this skill in school? For what purpose? Contrary evidence above notwithstanding, one must nevertheless cultivate the space between the ears.

Famously there is NASA, which spends its days laboring in the Space space. Or used to. Now commercial interests dare to boldly go where no one went before, spatially. NASA just writes the rules. Billionaires get the accolades.

To continue reading, please log in or register using the link in the upper right corner of the page.

How to identify opportunities for improvement and enable corrections before the product is at risk.

The electronics manufacturing community is facing unprecedented challenges in 2021. Component supply and product demand are completely out of sync in many industries. Material constraints and transportation shortages are stretching lead-times even on committed orders. An economy flush with stimulus money and pent-up demand for products not available during much of 2020 has eliminated the ability of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to plan based on historical trends. In the middle is the EMS provider that sees material arriving later than planned, while at the same time experiencing unplanned increases in order volumes on many programs. Lean Six Sigma provides production teams the tools they need to identify issues, analyze potential improvements and implement changes that help keep production flowing on time even with changing production inputs.

SigmaTron International’s Tijuana, Mexico, facility utilizes teams of Lean Six Sigma Green and Yellow Belts in its continuous improvement activities. They use a variety of core tools in that process.  

One tool is the Gemba Walk. The term Gemba comes from the Japanese word for “the real place.” Taichi Ohno, a Toyota engineer and leader, is often credited with developing the concept of the Gemba Walk or the idea that leaders should regularly and frequently be present to observe the work of their organization when and where it takes place.

To continue reading, please log in or register using the link in the upper right corner of the page.