Page 35 - Six Sigma for electronics design and manufacturing

Six Sigma for Electronics Design and Manufacturing
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needed to compete globally. Best in class represents the best achiev-
able annual improvements recorded anywhere, and not necessarily in
the business segment that the company competes in. It is the bench-
mark of what is achievable in any measure of performance.
It is apparent that an accurate method for developing and improv-
ing quality systems in design and manufacturing as well as customer
satisfaction is needed to achieve these high quality and capability re-
sults, and to compete with products that can be designed, manufac-
tured, and sold anywhere. Six sigma is an excellent tool to achieve
world class status as well as best in class results in quality, especially
given the increased complexity of designs and products.
At the same time, the requirements for developing new products in
high-technology industries have followed these increases in complexi-
ty and improvements in quality, necessitating faster product develop-
ment processes and shorter product lifecycles. Many of the leading
technology companies have created “virtual enterprises,” aligning
themselves with design and manufacturing outsourcing partners to
carry out services that can be performed more efficiently outside the
boundaries of the organization. These partnerships enabled a compa-
ny to focus on its core competencies, its own product brand, its cus-
tomers, and its particular competency in design or manufacturing.
These newly formed outsourcing companies are providing cost-
effective and timely services. In manufacturing, they provide multi-
disciplinary production; test and support services, including printed
circuit board (PCB) assembly and testing and packaging technology
such as sheet metal and plastic injection molding; and software con-
figuration and support services such as repair depot and warranty ex-
changes. They also offer lower cost, higher flexibility, and excellent
quality, eliminating the need to spend money on capital equipment
for internal capacity. This new outsourcing model allows all links in
the supply chain to focus on their own core competencies while still
reducing overall cycle times.
In design outsourcing, the supply chain offers the flexibility of sin-
gle or multiple competencies, including specialized engineering analy-
sis and design validation, testing, and conformance to design stan-
dards for multiple countries or codes. In addition, suppliers can offer
their own supply chain of strategic alliances in tooling and manufac-
turing services worldwide. Most of these outsourcing companies offer
design feedback in terms of design for manufacture (DFM) through
early supplier involvement (ESI). These design service providers have
reduced the need for high-technology companies to purchase or main-
tain expensive engineering and design competencies, such as specific
design analysis, some of which are used infrequently in project design
cycles.