The Marketing Minute: Marketing With Layers
The Right Approach: Electro-Tek—A Williams Family Legacy, Part 1
It’s Only Common Sense: If You’re Not Differentiated, You’re Dead
Prototron Receives MIL-31032 and AS9100 Certifications
October 22, 2019 | Steve Williams, The Right Approach Consulting LLCEstimated reading time: 7 minutes
O’Neil: Right. It has improved most of those metrics, and it just gives us and Dave Ryder, owner and president, a good view of where we’re at on a monthly basis. He participates in that meeting, although he’s not a member of the TRB nor part of the group that handles MIL-31032 because the owner can have a lot of influence. Dave lets us be independent and run the business how we see it, and when he has questions on the measures he sees every month, we have answers.
Williams: You said you had your 136th meeting, which I happened to sit in on this morning. If you look back to when you first started, the presentations were a lot shorter because there was less content. Now, you have way more to look at, but the meeting is shorter.
O’Neil: And that’s a byproduct of taking care of systemic problems. I’ve had this saying throughout my career, “Once you start measuring something, it automatically gets better.” We’ve done some good things with fronting conflicts where there has been a difference between the print and what we have on our photo plot sheet, for example; we’ve reduced those because we started measuring those types of things and working across various teams. We had our inside sales group sit with our operations group to solve that problem, and having the business and TRB meeting all in one is working well for us.
Williams: Another thing you have added here in the last couple of years that has paid dividends is measuring things in manufacturing and office functions to identify issues, such as something that comes out of engineering incorrectly or is the wrong revision. That has driven not only improvement in those areas but in manufacturing as well because they don’t see those issues anymore.
O’Neil: Absolutely. It’s not a good thing when you get the final and find out the revision on the print is not what you’re working there, and those incidents have decreased. They get into shipping, there are no questions, and you’re off to the races with getting good products out to your customers.
Williams: Kim, thanks for your time. It has been a pleasure.
O’Neil: Thank you, Steve.
Visit I-007eBooks.com to download The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to… Producing the Perfect Data Package from Prototron Circuits and other free, educational titles.
Page 2 of 2Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
Molex Announces Agreement to Acquire Smiths Interconnect
10/17/2025 | MolexMolex, a leading global electronics connectivity innovator, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Smiths Interconnect.
American Standard Circuits Achieves Successful AS9100 Recertification
10/14/2025 | American Standard CircuitsAmerican Standard Circuits (ASC), a leading manufacturer of advanced printed circuit boards, proudly announces the successful completion of its AS9100 recertification audit. This milestone reaffirms ASC’s ongoing commitment to the highest levels of quality, reliability, and process control required to serve aerospace, defense, space, and other mission-critical industries.
Kodiak Assembly Solutions Renews ITAR Registration, Providing Secure and Compliant Manufacturing for Defense & Aerospace
09/25/2025 | Kodiak Assembly SolutionsKodiak Assembly Solutions LLLP, a leading electronics contract manufacturer, has successfully renewed its ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) registration.
Cyient DLM, A Voice from the Frontlines
09/24/2025 | Arpita Das, Global Electronics AssociationOnce seen as a low-cost, build-to-print destination, India’s EMS sector is rapidly emerging as a global hub for high-reliability electronics, particularly in strategic sectors like aerospace, defense, and medical. As such, we highlight some companies that exemplify the strength and potential of Indian manufacturing.
Nortech Systems Achieves Enhanced Fiber Optic Performance
09/16/2025 | Nortech SystemsNortech Systems Incorporated, a leading provider of design and manufacturing solutions for complex electromedical devices and electromechanical systems, announced significant advancements in its fiber optic capabilities.