With emerging markets increasing demand and ever-growing numbers of products requiring printed circuit boards (PCBs), electronics manufacturing is booming! Investment has soared! PCBs are used in numerous everyday products (radios, tablets, smartphones, computers, medical equipment, televisions, household appliances, gaming consoles, smart meters, digital cameras, security systems, etc.) making electronic components more necessary than ever before. To meet the demand, production and process support in electronic manufacturing is critical.
What is production and process support in electronic manufacturing?
Production and process support refers to the maintenance and troubleshooting of systems, software, and infrastructure used in electronics manufacturing. The goal of this support is to ensure that systems and software operate smoothly, free of issues and/or problems. It involves monitoring the performance of systems, software, and infrastructure and responding to incidents, resolving issues as required. It also entails identifying and implementing improvements that prevent future issues.
What does a production and process support team do?
A production and process support team works closely with the development and infrastructure team, ensuring that new software, systems, and infrastructure are tested, thus identifying issues and resolving them before production begins. The support team also maintains documentation (troubleshooting guides, incident reports, runbook,) that is used to resolve problems/issues and improve the overall performance of the system and/or software. A production support team has a range of responsibilities that differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. These duties include all and/or some of the following:
- Monitoring the progress of projects, ensuring quality standards are maintained and deadlines met.
- Developing and overseeing project budgets (allocating funds for labour, materials, insurance, taxes, utilities, and other expenses).
- Working with the legal team, ensuring compliance with federal and provincial laws.
- Reviewing and approving designs, prototypes, sketches, and plans created by architects and/or designers.
- Supervising production/manufacturing teams in factories and/or facilities
- Liaising between the manufacturing company and vendors (contractors, sub-contractors suppliers, etc.)
- Guiding quality control, ensuring products meet industry standards and customer specifications.
- Reviewing employee performance, ensuring job tasks are completed efficiently and accurately.
- Managing employee issues, including disciplinary actions.
Why is production and process support important?
There are many reasons that process and production support are crucial in the electronics manufacturing industry.
- Improves productivity: Efficient process and production support results in less downtime, improving productivity.
- Saves time and money: Maintaining and troubleshooting systems, software, and infrastructure saves time and money.
- Aids in continuous delivery of products: An effective support team ensures that products are completed on time, creating contented customers.
- Increases employee satisfaction: Being able to complete tasks efficiently and promptly increases feelings of satisfaction with the job. Knowing that there’s a team ready to assist gives employees peace of mind.
- Reduces turnover: Satisfied employees remain for longer periods, reducing the need for interviewing, onboarding, and training new workers.
- Ensures the use of the best tools/resources: A dedicated support team ensures that the tools and resources utilized are innovative, adaptable, flexible, and efficient.
- Enables scalability: Having the right tools and resources and ensuring they’re well-maintained means you can scale manufacturing, when desired and/or necessary.
- Provides custom development and testing: The key to a stable manufacturing process is thorough, competent development and testing. A capable process and production support team provides this service, customizing it to business needs.
- Decreases errors: A well-developed and maintained manufacturing process decreases employee error, resulting in fewer defective products.
- Reduces bottlenecks: Process and production support ensure smooth operation, reducing the incidence of bottlenecks.
- More organized workspace: Supervision of production/manufacturing teams results in a more organized site.
- More efficient use of stock: Monitoring progress and overseeing budgets results in efficient stock usage.
Production and process support enables electronics manufacturers to understand and control the complete chain of events involved in their process, from raw material to end product. This reduces waste, decreases bottlenecks, lowers the incidence of defects, increases output, and improves product quality. Hidden problems and issues are revealed before they become serious, customer demands are met on time, employee satisfaction increases, and scalability is simplified. Production and process support is crucial in electronic manufacturing and assists manufacturers in meeting increasing demands.
Looking for printed circuit board assembly and design? Require metal fabrication services? Contact Innovative Manufacturing Source or call us at 403.279.7702. We’ll serve your business with custom metal fabrication services and/or electronic components through in-house manufacturing achieved through the use of state-of-the-art equipment. Let us meet your specific requirements.
