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The Readers Speak

I wish I could read minds. If I could, I’d know exactly what sort of problems you all face when you’re designing PCBs, what sort of technology you’re working with, and what sort of trends you’re seeing in PCB design and PCB manufacturing.

But since I’m not clairvoyant, I have to resort to other means to find out about our readers’ trials and tribulations. This is where our reader surveys come in. The survey is one of the best ways for us to find out about you and your job, which helps us to be certain that we’re providing you the most relevant content possible.

Best of all, surveys give the reader a voice. What’s on your mind? We really want to know.

Recently, we sent out a survey with a handful of questions; we’ve found that surveys with too many questions don’t get answered. One question was, “Does supply chain management affect your job?”

The answers were surprising. Almost 2/3 of you said no, the supply chain doesn’t affect your job in any meaningful way. But a third of you said the exact opposite: The supply chain impacts your job directly, and for some of you, it’s a big problem.

A very vocal minority left us a variety of great comments regarding their supply chain challenges. Here is a sample of the comments for that question:

• New parts availability and older parts going obsolete.
• Availability of parts.
• Component/part selection.
• The part selection process at the front end of the design.
• Component availability and end of life. Medical products could have a 15-year life.
• Replacing old parts, verifying parts are active and available.
• Cost factor and similar vendor capability for second source.
• Design updates after the board is complete due to part limitations.
• Having to correct layout due to changed components.
• Orders for parts affected by proposed ECOs have to be factored in, as procurement has outstanding orders for not only parts affected, but parts that may be affected by the ECO.

To read this column, which appeared in the May 2015 issue of The PCB Design Magazine, click here.