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The Inside Line
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
PB-free: How Close Are You?
It’s not alarming to hear that the surface mount world will be lead-free by 2006. What may worry some manufacturers is how to get to that point in the time that remains. Larger companies have resources at their disposal for making the move to lead-free. However, smaller companies often find themselves wondering how far they’ve come and just how much farther they have to go.
Indium Corporation of America is hoping to ease that worry by offering its online interactive Pb-free Readiness Assessment Tool free-of-charge. The software, developed by Ronald Lasky, Ph.D., PE, helps companies pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses in implementing a lead-free assembly process.
The assessment software lets users answer questions in four areas that lead-free implementers1 found to be most important. These areas include: Plans and Processes; PWB Components and Materials; Compliance and Procedures; and Logistics, Repair and Inspections. The software then generates results according to how each question is answered. Users can track their progress from month-to-month against past results. This allows companies to see quantitative results as they move toward compliance. Results from other companies that have used the software are also available, allowing manufacturers to compare their readiness on an industry-wide scale.
The Pb-free Readiness Assessment tool is available and has already seen interest from the market, claims Indium. Since its inception in August 2004, over 700 companies worldwide have assessed the software in the move to lead-free manufacturing. Of these, over 300 used the services in September 2004. The software is available at www.pb-free.com.
- Indium Corporation, Motorola, Scientific America and Hewlett-Packard
- Michelle M. Boisvert
Electronics Outsourcing Shifts to the Philippines
The trend in the electronics industry seems to be a shift of outsourcing production farther east than India-to the Philippines. The Philippines offers a more cost-effective labor force compared to India, claims Norman DePalatino, COO at Epixtar, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company. But money isn’t the only stimulus. Cultural similarities between the western world and the Philippines also are factoring into this move. Because the culture in the Philippines is more westernized, there is less of a learning curve when dealing with cultural differences and work expectations, adds DePalatino.
In the Philippines, there tends to be a strong affinity for U.S. culture. This is an advantage as many companies are fluent in English. In addition, many workers in the Philippines have a strong knowledge of the electronics industry. When working with companies looking to outsource to other locations, Epixtar has managed international centers with emphasis on culturally specific aspects of agent motivation and compensation, navigating work regulations in the Philippines and attracting and keeping workers. Local labor rates prove to be beneficial as well.
There are, however, risks in offshore outsourcing, claims a Forrester Research study1. One risk is that financial gains are not always instant. Start-up costs and increased overhead mean that electronics companies may not see savings until the end of the first year. Often, sending work to locations such as India puts a strain on internal IT processes and a company’s internal established culture. To reap the biggest reward from offshore outsourcing, electronics companies need to develop a methodology that takes into account both the risks and the benefits.
- Forrester Collection, “Offshore Outsourcing: The Complete Guide,” September 2004.
-Lee Mather