IPC Validation Services: What to Expect at IPC APEX EXPO 2020

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

IPC’s Randy Cherry previews what to expect from IPC APEX EXPO 2020, including a full line on display demonstrating CFX/Hermes, further development of the Validation Services program, as well as testimonials from member companies that have been participating in IPC’s new trusted supplier program to the Department of Defense (DoD).

Nolan Johnson: Randy, you work with IPC’s Validation Services programs. Let’s start with an overview of those programs.

Randy Cherry: IPC Validation Services is comprised of three programs. We have the certification program based around the qualified manufacturers list (QML) and the qualified products list (QPL) where we certify the company’s manufacturing process to the IPC standard. We also do gap analysis with companies that aren’t interested in auditing but would like to get a snapshot of how their manufacturing processes stack up to the IPC standards. The third program is our Technology Solutions program, which is more of a problem-solving, troubleshooting program where we work on very specific issues that the IPC member company would come up with. We’re constantly developing new programs as time goes on. One program I’d like to highlight is our new Trusted Supplier program based on the IPC-1791 standard.

This was a project that IPC worked on with the Executive Agent team, including folks from SAIC and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Division in Crane, Indiana. Together, we developed this program focused on PCB manufacturing, from the designer to the fabricator that makes the raw PCB, and of course, the assembler that assembles the PCB. This program is based around companies who supply to the DoD and their contractors. There are four basic parts of this program.

First, you must have a good quality system in place, but we build from the quality systems that the IPC member companies already have like AS9100, Nadcap, and IPC’s QML, so nothing new has to be done. Second, there’s also the supply chain risk management policy; we make sure that’s in place and that it protects the supply chain from certain threats or counterfeit disruption. As you know, counterfeiting is a big problem in our industry. The third part is security and compliance with NIST SP 800-171. We also look at your export controls and make sure that your ITAR and EAR compliance registrations are all up to par; we review all that documentation.

To read this entire interview, which appeared in the January 2020 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.