Working Smarter Through Innovative IT Tools

From poka-yoking common production mistakes to force multiplying the supply chain management (SCM) team, the right IT tools can help improve quality, shorten cycle time and reduce workload. At SigmaTron International, systems strategy is a mix of industry-standard and proprietary systems. While a centralized IT structure oversees deployment of new tools across the organization, IT support activities at each facility often develop and test IT tools relevant to their operational needs. If a tool appears to have relevance across multiple facilities, the corporate IT organization standardizes it to align with a multi-facility deployment, develops required training and deploys it in a phased approach. This approach of exploiting individual facility “working smarter” tools drives innovation faster than a centralized approach alone. At the same time, the corporate IT organization ensures these innovations are robustly tested and able to integrate seamlessly into existing systems prior to company-wide adoption.

This working smarter approach to IT tool integration is paying dividends in the current environment of increased workload and decreased labor availability. The improvements are concentrated in three areas:

• Supply chain management (SCM)
• Production efficiency
• Quality.

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Improving Industry 4.0 Value

Industry 4.0 automated inspection technology opens the door to enhanced levels of process control. In addition to having to upgrade equipment, however, fully leveraging the power of this technology requires a strong team, an accurate program validation database, and a methodology to track trends in continuous improvement activities. This article looks at the implementation process for inline 3-D solder paste inspection and 3-D automated optical inspection following reflow on SigmaTron’s SMT lines in Tijuana.

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Addressing the Challenges of Legacy Products

The industrial product sector incorporates products which may have extremely long lifecycles and/or older technology designs. Reasons include cost of products, limited ability to change the infrastructure in which they must operate, market unwillingness to upgrade and legacy product lines whose volumes don’t justify a redesign to new technologies that must be continued to support a large installed user base.

From an outsourcing perspective, this drives the need to find suppliers able to cost effectively manufacture superior quality products whose bills of material (BOM), manufacturing technology and test processes require higher levels of support. Documentation may be limited and there may be a need to combine depot repair or refurbishment services with production.

SigmaTron International offers its customers a full service solution that includes support for legacy products. This whitepaper looks at four areas that are critical to supporting these products:

• New product introduction (NPI) support
• Ability to manufacture in lower cost regions
• Strong supply chain management (SCM) organization
• Ability to structure a complete solution

Read the full whitepaper here.

Eliminating Common Areas of Inefficiency

While the processes associated with high volume, continuous demand products are relatively easy to optimize, mid-volume projects, especially those with variable demand, are more subject to inefficiency. Both outsourcing strategy and the challenges of accommodating a changing forecast can contribute to these hidden costs. This case study looks at ways a mid-volume medical box build at SigmaTron International’s Union City, CA facility has had processes optimized to eliminate common areas of inefficiency.

The project involves an electronic patient assistance device. SigmaTron builds the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), assembles and tests final units; and provides warranty repair and upgrade services.

The key areas where inefficiency is minimized are:

• Overall outsourcing strategy
• Production scheduling
• Final assembly process design.

Read the full whitepaper here.

SigmaTron Source Q2 2022

This quarter’s issue of the SigmaTron Source looks at the Union City, CA team’s BGA rework/reballing services and Industry 4.0 enhancements to the Tijuana, Mexico facility’s production lines. Links to SigmaTron’s latest whitepapers are also provided. Read the full issue here.