PMCI is Switching Servers This Weekend

Powell-Mucha Consulting, Inc. is switching hosting services this weekend and is likely to be unavailable. However, when the site is back up (sometime between Saturday and Monday morning), there will be a new, improved look thanks one of our new creative partners, Vortices Design and one of our old creative partners Steamroller Creative.  They made web redesign incredibly easy. Be sure to visit our Articles page for links to PMCI’s latest publications. Your comments on the new site are more than welcome. And, if you are looking to update your brand image, keep PMCI in mind.

Mark Your Calendars For This SMTA International Session

Mike Buetow, Circuits Assembly’s Editor-in-Chief, and I are changing up the format in this year’s Contract Manufacturing-focused session to focus more closely on industry trends and roadmaps.

Seamless Sourcing Teams: Best Practices in Information Exchange

Chair: Susan Mucha, Powell-Mucha Consulting, Inc.

Co-Chair: Mike Buetow, UP Media Group

Place: SMTA International in Ft. Worth, TX

Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2013, 10:30 am – 1 pm, Room 203C

Synopsis: The quality of IT solutions and internal processes for optimizing production efficiency continue to grow in importance in the outsourcing equation. This session looks at trends and best practices in managing design reviews, production documentation, and material and production status. The session includes a range of perspectives reflecting both supplier solutions and iNEMI’s 2013 Information Management Systems Roadmap.

Topics/Speakers:

• Best Practices for Improving the PCB Supply Chain, Cheryl Tulkoff and Craig Hillman, Ph.D., DfR Soultions
• Accountability Structure in a Contract Manufacturing Engineering Department, Mike Gerner, Plexus Corp.
• Developing a Knowledge Based Risk Identification System for Sophisticated SMT Assembly Design and Development, Jingsong Xie, Ph.D., RelEng Technologies, Inc.
• Managing Information Across the Supply Chain: Highlights from the iNEMI Roadmap, Barbara Goldstein, National Institute of Standards and Technology

To register visit: http://smta.org/smtai/register.cfm.

What are You Doing to Sell Young People on a Career in Manufacturing?

While I believe some of the talk of skills shortages is political hype from some employers not wanting to pay market competitive salaries, there is no question that many kids today don’t see a career in manufacturing as an exciting option. My column in Circuits Assembly this month discusses this issue and ways to help grow the available workforce and infrastructure necessary to support returned growth in the manufacturing sector.