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Millennials in Manufacturing: Cathy Cox – Multiple Approaches to Solving Problems

Cathy Cox started working on an assembly line before moving to SMT, where she performed training and the organization of the department. She is now a process engineer and in charge of all the first-time build customers, where she manages the entire assembly process figuring out the perfect assembly plan for each product, and the best schedule to deliver each customer the best product.

Cathy regards her job as very rewarding. “My job has provided me with a greater understanding and appreciation of how to process and evaluate circuit board assemblies from the beginning, at customer design, to the very end, to completion and shipping of the PCBA. Not only have I learned a lot about circuit board assembly, but I have also gained a ton of knowledge from my co-workers who have been in manufacturing for years! We recently hired an engineer, Steve Telgen, who had previous experience working for a PCB fabrication house. Steve has taught me the importance of good board design and how that directly relates to the manufacturability of the PCBA.”

Now at Lectronics for almost four years, Cathy’s career choice has met her every expectation. “At first, I thought that I would learn about the company and business of manufacturing. Never did I think of this place as a career. Now that I have been here and moving up in the company, a career is a must,” she said.

But she says the work is not without its challenges.

“As a young female in this industry, I have had to prove myself as an engineer. Traditionally, Engineering is a ‘boys club’, and my suggestions are not always taken into consideration without supporting facts and data. While this can be frustrating, it has made me stronger than I ever knew I could be because I’ve had to work harder to ensure that I’m heard. Not only does this make me better at my job, but many of my engineering colleges have come around and now understand the value of my opinion.

I have gained respect in process engineering because I used to work as an SMT operator on the equipment, which provided me the ability to see an assembly as more than just intangible design files. I understand the nuances to actually manufacturing the boards, specifically from an operator’s standpoint.”

Although Cathy feels she had to work harder to prove herself as a female Engineer, these experiences have taught her to take a more critical and analytic approach to her work.

“We recently had an issue with an epoxy sealed switch on an assembly that receives conformal coating. As we were troubleshooting the issue, our team pulled the switch’s data sheet and concluded that there would be no way for the conformal coat to wick-up the switch’s leads into the component. I disagreed with their findings and expressed my concern that I thought the root cause came from wicking. Through a series of systematic experiments, I was able to prove my hypothesis and validate my original root cause hunch.”

Speaking of the older generation who are wary of working with millennials like herself because of their unique work ethic, Cathy has this to say:

“We are a unique bunch. We see the world differently. We may seem like we aren’t involved and may seem bored, but we are actually more involved then they even know. The older generation has one path to solve a problem. Millennials can see a problem and think of many different solutions to that problem. Most of them are faster, smarter, and completely random… but they work!”

Touted by most of her colleagues as the top go-to resource about jobs running on the production floor, Cathy is a tremendous asset to Lectronics. Her early experience as an SMT operator with hands-on assembly work has provided Cathy with a more realistic perspective of manufacturing that is crucial within the engineering group. She is a passionate, enthusiastic and intelligent Engineer – the ideal employee to drive Lectronics’ manufacturing into the future.

Watch Cathy's interview here: