CIMTEK, a leader in quality lifecycle management (QLM) solutions, provides practical tips on how holistic product test solutions enhance a manufacturer’s green strategy – ensuring the most reliable and responsive products are delivered to market, while fully complying with growing environmental regulations.
Based on 20 years of expertise in helping electronic manufacturers align green strategies with high-quality product innovation, CIMTEK has identified several areas where test is having a considerable impact on increasing overall environmental efficiency:
· Gaining the proactive operational and performance improvements to optimize product quality, and minimize environmentally-straining re-work cycles, significantly reducing material waste and toxins
· Diminishing product malfunction returns and reducing logistics and transportation costs, by collecting and analyzing data from across the entire product lifecycle for improved product design
· Gaining lean manufacturing flow to maximize machine utilization, prevent over production and avoid excess inventory – driving lower labor and material consumption
· Ensuring all key current and future industry regulations – such as RoHS, REACH and WEEE – are met, while maintaining full product functionality
The common thread for today’s green supply chain is doing more – with less strain and resources demanded. Manufacturers need to think smarter and more diligently, balancing the integration of new environmentally sound processes with the continual need to bring the most reliable products to market.
Quality lifecycle management (QLM) software and systems, such as those offered by CIMTEK, answer this call, gaining the spot-on visibility to ensure products perform as envisioned at design, and the streamlined processes to reduce carbon footprints, regardless of the assembly materials being utilized.
This ongoing environmental green evolution is magnified for electronic manufacturers today, who face added accountability and scrutiny. Growing consumer demand requires low-cost products are delivered in the most rapid fashion. Key environmental compliance standards restrict the use of certain materials – such as lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium – that have been traditional staples to product development. Any shortcomings can result in possible financial fines, market share losses, trade restrictions, liability issues and even criminal charges.
“Today is a reminder of the commitment manufacturers need to make – to keep the environment in mind at each step of the product lifecycle,” said Stan Smith, president and CEO of CIMTEK. “Whether they are soldering circuit boards with new material, or eliminating the use of potentiality-hazardous substances, there is a way to ensure products are developed both environmentally friendly, and built to perform.”
CIMTEK’s Magellon QLM software delivers the insight to simplify production efficiencies, increase product yields and ensure continual long term product reliability. By collecting and analyzing component quality, supplier and post sales warranty data across the entire product development cycle, manufacturers can go above and beyond the call for green – not only reducing excess material and processes, but proactively ensuring the highest level of customer service levels, well before market launch.
About CIMTEK
CIMTEK solves one of manufacturing’s biggest challenges: how to bring high-quality products to market quickly and cost-effectively. With CIMTEK’s Quality Lifecycle Management , manufacturers leverage critical information on performance, functionality and reliability captured in the test phase to drive higher quality designs, smarter sourcing and consistently profitable products. Since 1986, CIMTEK has been the partner of choice for innovative test solution by leaders in aerospace, automotive, high-tech and industrial manufacturing.