Electronics manufacturers get the lean treatment

Electronics manufacturers look set to get an interesting end-to-end IT resource to speed everything from engineering design to production, following a partnership deal between lean manufacturing systems firm Sony TiMMS and ECAD data preparation company Router Solutions in the US. The two say they’ll be able to managing data and processes from PCB design right through the manufacturing processes. Contract manufacturers will be able to capture and prepare ECAD data from a variety of sources, squirt it into the production system and get very rapid, high quality new product introduction. The pair say it’s important because users will be able to improve resource utilisation and compete again on the international stage. “Manufacturers challenged with higher labour costs can effectively compete with any low-cost producers when managing the total ‘value chain’ in manufacturing,” says Michael Ford, general manager of Sony TiMMS. The two companies are currently involved in several joint projects with vertically integrated manufacturers. They say the focus is on adopting lean manufacturing and engineering processes and technologies to strip waste out of new product introduction and manufacture.