Pete,
I cannot tell you enough how much I understand your frustration. I had
been working for a client who is trying to get some improvements in
quality, and a reduction in the amount of whoopsies leading to big time
rework jobs. The first thing I noticed is exactly what you are stating,
a solder paste inspection system sitting idle, an X-ray machine only
used to check rework of BGAs, and an AOI process being used for first
article check only. At the same time, there were no SPC tools being used
in this factory to monitor the various processes. Please note, this is
not at GD, where I am a regular employee. This is at one of the other
clients I work for.
When I suggested the SPC metrics be set up, charted, root causes
identified (continuous improvement), and corrective action status
reported on a weekly basis, heads immediately began to shake back and
forth, statements such "Who the hell has time to do all that, can't you
see we are way too busy?" and "For the few defects we have at (insert
process name here) it is just not worth it for us to:
1. Use the AOI 100% of the time.
2. Inspect the solder paste on every board
3. X-ray all BGAs and other non-visible SJs
4. Verify all new stencils prior to production use and verify
proper aperture reductions are present for belly pad parts, power
transistors with ground pads, large SMT caps, etc.
5. Record and chart defects at inspection points, including
receiving inspection.
6. Etc, etc. "
So, we compromised with an SPC incorporation plan that took one or two
processes/procedures at a time, with a good understanding there would be
no deviation from that schedule. They did this with total reluctance.
As each process was brought "under control", the attitude slowly
changed, with the exception of one or two employees.
Pretty soon their's were the only processes left, and the success across
the board forced the manager to confront them. It ended up with one
being fired and the other moved to a different job.
However, this paradigm shift was so difficult and took months, when
really it could have been done in three or four weeks. Was there so much
resistance because I didn't do a good job explaining this to them? No.
It is just the nature of resistance to any change.
After this first change of attitude, however, this company took off,
implementing many other continuous improvement functions such as 5S,
Kanban setup and many other improvements. They streamlined their data
recording so it was nearly automatic, they were finding more time to
focus on the corrective actions and process improvements because they
were not busy fighting fires, and now they have realized that they can
be a very competitive EMS, even when much of the manufacturing is going
overseas.
So, Pete, don't be afraid to "vent" your frustrations to the captive
board house. Simply stated, these are standard procedure in world-class
EMS factories. You are not wrong in expecting that equipment is being
put to good use.
Check out IPC-1720A here, it is a free download.
http://www.ipc.org/ContentPage.aspx?PageID=4.1.0.5. Then go back and
participate in a good audit.
-----Original Message-----
From: Leadfree [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pete Houwen
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 8:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [LF] x-ray and SPI frequency?
I just got back from another trip to our (captive) PCB plant, and before
I vent more frustrations, I need to ask if I'm off base.
As part of our switch to the more difficult lead free at the same time
we started BGAs and moved to a new facility in a new country, we
purchased x- ray and solder paste inspections systems. After asking
about the gathering dust on them, I was told the SPI was used on a 1
panel/hour sample for each of 2 lines, the x-ray is used only on failed
boards suspected of a BGA problem.
I'm not a process engineer, don't even play one on the internet, but
this
doesn't seem normal to me. We still aren't getting good yields, I
think these
tools should be more utilized. I don't want to press the issue without
a better idea of normal use.
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