The Industry Speaks

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Every time I get to visit trade shows and exhibitions and see the amazing equipment and solutions on display, I think, “Wow, the guys who developed these systems are great.” When I talk to the people responsible for creating those technologies, I marvel at how they blend their ideas and creativity with technology to foster innovation in this industry. Most of the time, I am in awe of how easily they could spearhead the next generation of solutions in their respective industries.

My job enables me to be at the forefront of these innovations, to know more about them and the people who created them, so that I can tell our readers the story behind these great technologies and how they are helping customers address their everyday manufacturing challenges.

Over the past year, my colleagues and I have interviewed numerous engineers, key executives and industry experts, to know more about their insights, mission, vision, and great ideas to help improve the electronics assembly and manufacturing industry.

Meanwhile, we all remember times when co-workers have made personal comments—comments that we would like to keep off the record. Sometimes, they’re about customers’ ridiculous demands that often require months of all-nighters. Sometimes, they’re about engineering teams that seem to be stuck in a rut doing the same thing over and over, even when the process yields average results. And sometimes, these comments are just related to wishing that tasks and processes could be done more inefficiently. And then there are also comments about management seeming to be oblivious of what’s really happening at the shop floor. Or they may reference a disconnect between the decision makers and the engineers and operators.

We get many of these off-the-record comments during interviews and in our surveys’ comments section. These comments are also important because they express the personal thoughts and feelings of the people involved in this great industry—the very same people who make these technology advancements possible.

Which is why in this issue of SMT Magazine, we take a pause from covering the latest technology trends, challenges, and solutions in the electronics manufacturing and assembly industry. Instead, we are focusing on our readers—to give a voice to their thoughts on the industry, companies, jobs, interests, and even pain points when it comes to their respective specialties.

Read what these engineers and experts from Keysight Technologies, Integrated Micro-Electronics, Datest Corp., Integrated Technologies Ltd, NEOTech, and Saline Lectronics, to name a few, have to say when it comes their problems, their happy thoughts, and great ideas. Some of them even provided their favorite tips and tricks when it comes to their jobs.

To read this entire article, which appeared in the August 2016 issue of SMT Magazine, click here.