Teaming for Increased Process Visibility

Spurred by the increasing competition among the Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) providers and in response to the needs of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), a new model of manufacturing that epitomizes an integrated and predictive manufacturing environment is being proposed. The dynamic nature of the EMS environment mandates the need for a manufacturing schema that is both integrated and predictive (rather than reactive). This research is part of an ongoing effort to establish an integrated predictive manufacturing model through the concept of ‘continuous improvement’. The first step was to perform a general analysis of the operational structure and losses in a manufacturing environment. Once the losses were identified, they were grouped into equipment, production, process, operational, and material related losses. The key performance indicators for monitoring the variety of losses were identified. Process, equipment, operational and production monitoring tools were developed based on these performance indicators. Based on this understanding, a formal requirement specification was established. Shop floor control systems that provide on-line information on Work In Progress (WIP) status, defect-data, finished goods ‘genealogy’ and unitlevel traceability through data captured throughout the entire manufacturing cycle are being developed and implemented. Process metrics like first pass yield, Defects Per Unit (DPU), and Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO) are shared with shop floor personnel in real time by the application of proven Internet technologies. Real time Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts and process triggers, which serve as proactive tools in predicting ‘out-of-control’ situations, were also developed. Process metrology tools were developed through interfaces developed for inspection equipments like Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) and X-ray Laminography. Since a major portion of electronics manufacturing at an EMS provider is performed by capital intensive Surface Mount Technology (SMT) equipment, the performance of these pieces of equipment plays a major role in deciding the performance of the line, which in turn impacts the performance of the plant. Therefore, an integrated system with the capability to collect real-time data from production equipment and provide information on critical performance indicators like machine/line/plant utilization, downtime and component placement reports, which enhance the operational efficiency of the plant, are being implemented. Standardization of manufacturing practices and documentation and their influence on reduction in manufacturing lead-time is investigated in this paper.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it investigates whether and to what extent “linguistic hedging”, an impression management form of linguistic expression that conveys an ambiguous level of commitment, is used in corporate social responsibility (CSR) employment narratives; and second, it explores whether there is any difference in the use of linguistic hedging between written and spoken corporate forms of language. It mobilises these objectives by examining employee-related narratives made by electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers domiciled in Taiwan, in the context of labour malpractice incidents.Design/methodology/approachTwo groups of data are examined: corporate responsibility reports (written language) and interviews and speeches of corporate founders and senior executives (spoken language). The research sample is ten Taiwanese EMS firms, all of which attracted public criticism and scrutiny due to a series of employee-related incidents. The sample period is between 2009 and 2013. Linguistic hedging is measured quantitatively by the relative word frequency of hedges, using the concordance software ANTCONC, with findings interpreted through the lens of legitimacy theory and impression management.FindingsThe study found that hedging was evident in CSR narratives. The EMS providers in Taiwan appeared to use hedging in employee-related disclosures to manage legitimacy challenges due to employee-related incidents that had happened in their assembly plants. The adjustments in employee-related disclosures made by the EMS firms as a legitimation strategy can be seen as a rhetoric device of impression management or a form of symbolic legitimation to persuade society to restore their legitimacy status. Further, overall hedging was more frequently used in spoken than written language, which suggests that rhetorical hedging in written narratives is more likely to be a deliberate choice of tactics to influence stakeholder perceptions and thereby manage corporate legitimacy.Originality/valueThe study introduces a new analytical technique, linguistic hedging, into the CSR literature. This enriches research methods used in this field, providing more compelling insights into the relationship between the use of language and CSR narratives in the process of corporate legitimation of employee-related practices. This study thus provides a platform for future computational-linguistics studies in the field of CSR.

Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) Providers, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Fabricators and Defense Contractors are spending millions creating and maintaining International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliant systems and processes while at the same time lobbying for change to theoretically improve US competitiveness in foreign markets. What is it within the ITAR that adds cost to the EMS industry and/or the PCB process? Are those costs real or perceived? How can the industry better serve the needs of the Defense Market? What are the inherent challenges of outsourcing in an ITAR environment?

Typically, the introduction and implementation of new technologies in the Contract Electronics Manufacturing (CEM) environment is driven by the existing or new customer demand, however, the CEMs must recognize that adherence to this strategy can increase the risk of losing an existing or a potential customer. On the other hand, in today’s economy of tighter margins, shrinking market-share and diminishing demand, it is economically impractical to invest in equipment upgrades and extensive experiments beforehand and hope that a customer will come along with the requirement for the new technology that the CEM or Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) provider has already put in place. In this article, our approach towards the introduction and implementation of the 0201 technology in manufacturing will be discussed. We feel that the best approach is to be prepared to introduce 0201 technology into manufacturing by investing in the training of key individuals, identifying the equipment capabilities, upgrading requirements and documenting a formal road-map.

This paper provides a detailed introduction to the combined application of three specific tools; Technology Audits, Complexity & Yield Analysis, and Statistically Based Test Coupons to dramatically improve both supplier and user profitability. These tools ensure that users make best advantage of the capabilities of their suppliers. And the combined data from these methods provides suppliers with information necessary to make better and more cost effective decisions regarding equipment, research and development (R&D), engineering and operator training investments. For users the methodologies presented produce a quantitative alternative (or addition) to traditional vendor management tools that rely primarily upon qualitative assessment of vendor capabilities in combination with tracking of quality and delivery performance. Users can also use these tools to more cost effectively allocate their designs to those suppliers whose combination of technical and cost capabilities best match the requirements of specific designs. Qualification of printed wiring board (PWB) fabricators by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) traditionally relies on subjective and qualitative assessment of vendor capabilities and historical tracking of performance. Claimed technical capabilities often do not measure up to actual product fabrication. And even more frequently, low actual production yields result in late and/or short quantity delivery as well as unacceptable price increases. By combining quantitative capability measurement with statistical prediction of yields customers can more accurately determine the real capabilities and cost performance of their PWB suppliers as well as allocate actual board designs to those vendors most capable of producing specific designs cost effectively. PWB fabricators can use these same tools to more precisely price their products, prioritize capital and R&D investments, and focus ongoing process improvement activities. This paper presents quantitative methods for determining shop capability and yield performance predictability along with case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach. Several OEMs now evaluate and will soon qualify PWB suppliers using these techniques. Some Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) providers are moving in this direction as well. The key to future competitiveness in PWB fabrication markets lies in effective management of capability and performance.

While most Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) providers are focused on transitioning their customers' products to lead free, many of these customers still have a need to sustain their leaded products. These Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) compete in industries which are perceived as exempt from lead-free compliance. In addition, these customers are reluctant to re-qualify their products because of the high cost. ACC Electronix, Inc's focus is to develop processes and strategies as part of its program management methodology to individualize support for OEMs not transitioning to lead free in the short term. This paper will look at the challenges associated with products that are not transitioning to lead free and suggests key points for consideration for both the EMS Provider and the OEM. It also looks at examples of how specific customer needs have been addressed to minimize the impact to the EMS Provider and its OEM customers.

The Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) industry contributes significantly to toxic waste generation due to its fabrication processes. Notably, adherence to the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive varies amongst EMS providers, despite its aim to reduce electronic waste. This study explores the factors influencing EMS providers’ decision to adopt the RoHS directive, utilizing the technology–organization–environment (TOE) and the human–organization–technology (HOT) fit, or the TOE-HOT fit framework. We validated our framework using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), based on responses from 379 questionnaires from major EMS providers. The results demonstrated that expert resources, adequate resources, perceived industrial pressure, institutional pressure, and costs were positively associated with RoHS adoption. However, innovation, relative advantage, and verification ability were identified as significant barriers. In particular, innovation in the human dimension was the key determinant for RoHS adoption. Therefore, clear policy instruments and regulations may enhance RoHS adoption by EMS providers. These findings can guide environmental policy definitions in governmental laws and strategies, encouraging EMS providers and other firms to adopt RoHS standards.

When we examine the impacts of space weather on society, do we really understand the risks? Can past experiences reliably predict what will happen in the future? As the complexity of technology increases, there is the potential for it to become more fragile, allowing for a single point of failure to bring down the entire system. Take the Global Positioning System (GPS) as an example. GPS positioning, navigation, and timing have become an integral part of daily life, supporting transportation and communications systems vital to the aviation, merchant marine, cargo, cellular phone, surveying, and oil exploration industries. Everyday activities such as banking, mobile phone operations, and even the control of power grids are facilitated by the accurate timing provided by GPS. Understanding the risks of space weather to GPS and the many economic sectors reliant upon it, as well as how to build resilience, was the focus of a policy workshop organized by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and held on 13–14 October 2010 in Washington, D. C. The workshop brought together a select group of policy makers, space weather scientists, and GPS experts and users. Arif Alikhan, assistant secretary for policy development in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, kicked off the meeting by stressing that authorities should see GPS and resilience through an all-hazards lens rather than plan for each emergency scenario on a case-by-case basis. Whether a GPS signal error or disruption is caused by a solar storm, an intentional jammer, or some other source, government and industries need to plan to respond to the incident and restore capability as quickly as possible, although, Alikhan remarked, “The number of potential scenarios is infinite, and we have neither the time nor resources to plan against them.” Alikhan suggested that risk managers conceptualize the scope of critical assets in need of protecting through a resilience and risk analysis framework. He recommended that decision makers take an inventory of all functions provided for by their institutions“ use of GPS. Next, through risk-informed prioritization, planners can ascertain whether a backup is really needed for any services provided by GPS. “In this fiscal environment,” Alikhan said, “we will need to shrink the haystack, or size of the problem, in order to be effective.” Because the interdependencies of critical infrastructures are not fully appreciated by the public and private sectors, he stressed that a mix of governmental, commercial, and international stakeholders should develop plans and procedures to make systems more resilient. The remainder of the workshop was organized around discussions in three sessions: (1) identifying the vulnerability of GPS technologies and services to space weather, (2) identifying how this vulnerability affects users who depend on GPS, and (3) developing opportunities and policies for building resilience. In the first session, participants agreed that the vulnerability of GPS needs to be defined for different segments (e.g., satellites, signals, users). While some understanding of user needs exists, the definition of user requirements needs more clarification because space weather events will affect some technologies more than others. Also, a threat assessment would be valuable to best understand how severe the impacts might be and what mitigation options are available. With the recent news that Google™ is building self-driving robotic cars that depend on GPS, trying to capture possible future vulnerabilities is extremely challenging. During a debate on how much to stress the impact of a solar flare as massive as the 1859 Carrington event, many warned that while the public should be made aware of such a potential occurrence, it should not govern planning, since such a doomsday scenario is uncertain and expected to happen only very infrequently. When discussing in the second session how users of GPS are affected, participants discovered that communicating with GPS stakeholders and users is a challenge because many do not understand the impacts of adverse space weather. In particular, many of the service providers and end users of GPS were not in business during the previous solar maximum and therefore are not familiar with space weather hazards. To help remedy this, outreach approaches were discussed, and some participants argued that the space weather community should anticipate the needs of the users. Others instead urged the space weather community to deal only with the service providers—not end users—and ask them rather than tell them what they need. Despite this debate, there was broad agreement that space weather researchers should develop better measurements and predictions of the ionosphere. In addition, participants agreed that scintillation specifications and predictions would be useful to many users of GPS. Improved predictions would be possible by installing more dual-frequency stations and scintillation monitors, they noted. The workshop concluded with a discussion of policy options for building resilience. Participants debated what measures could be taken, such as developing new policies, investing in research and development, changing industry practices, and public and private sector collaboration. Scott Pace, director of George Washington University“s Space Policy Institute, stressed in his presentation that stakeholders and disaster planners should focus on three aspects: prediction, detection, and mitigation. Better space physics/heliophysics science is needed, and it was recommended that this be a top priority for the Solar and Space Physics decadal survey, which sets future nationwide research targets and is currently under review by the U.S. National Research Council. Findings and recommendations from the workshop will be published in a report by AMS. The results will be widely distributed to various stakeholders, including policy makers, GPS service providers, federal agencies, research communities, and international organizations. Genene Fisher is a senior policy fellow in the American Meteorological Society's Policy Program. E-mail: [email protected]

The Austrian Armed Forces (AAF) have historically played a significant role in accomplishing security tasks in the domestic sphere. These tasks, extending beyond territorial defense, form an integral part of the constitutionally defined spectrum of possible military missions, and extend back to the times of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. These tasks are categorized as law enforcement assistance and disaster relief operations. According to Austrian legal regulations, military activities within the national territory in principle require that “the lawful civil power request its [the military’s] cooperation.” On the basis of such a request, however, a relatively wide range of military action is possible. The Security and Defense Doctrine, which was adopted in December 2001, provides the political and strategic guidelines for adapting Austria’s security policy to the challenges of the post-Cold War era. It includes plans to further develop and adapt the Cold War-driven concept of “Comprehensive National Defense” to the new risks and challenges posed by a multipolar security environment. A concrete operational model based on this doctrine, including a new definition of the tasks for the AAF in the framework of a modern “homeland security” strategy, does not yet exist. Simultaneously, due to the change of paradigms, Austrian security-political priorities have changed from reactive defense to proactive and multinational stabilization. This functional priority placed on external tasks requires a clear concentration of resources, which causes problems for homeland security tasks due to the low level of defense expenditures. The reorganization of the national security sector will therefore have to include a re-assessment of the financing of national security tasks. While the international profile of the AAF is becoming clearer, the process of defining the military role domestically has been initiated only recently. It is quite obvious that the national policy of deployment of the AAF must be embedded in a comprehensive national concept, and should take into consideration all relevant developments at the regional level (namely, the EU). However, due to its capabilities and special expertise, the AAF is able to make valuable contributions to cope with the new domestic security risks. The qualitative improvements of the transformed AAF (“Bundesheer 2010”) will lead to further enhanced military capabilities, especially concerning readiness, command and communication, and defense against nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks.

This paper compares the relative advantages of two models (a) a two‐factor (i.e. source and channel) choice model; and (b) a theory of planned behaviour (TPB)–based acceptance model, developed to explain electronic government (e‐government) service adoption. The models were empirically validated in the government‐to‐citizen (G2C) anti/counter‐terrorism (ACT) service domain by a telephone survey administered to a sample of 500 US residents systematically drawn from the mainland USA. The structured telephone survey questionnaire measured respondents' intentions to use Web‐based ACT services and their beliefs and attitudes towards various ACT service providers (e.g. the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, local police, non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) and news companies) and media (e.g. Web, email, telephone, TV, newspapers, postal mail). The results of multiple‐regression analysis of the 500 interview responses show that the source–channel choice model can explain the service usage intentions as well as, or better than, the TPB‐based acceptance model. Both service source and channel exerted consistent and substantive effects on citizens' intention to use ACT services, explaining, on average, more than 43% of variance in the dependent variable. In contrast, subjective norms in the TPB‐based model seemed to have a marginal effect. Privacy protection and integrity of the service source appeared to be key antecedents of source preference, while the influence of channel attributes on channel preference varied widely depending on the type of services. This study provides an empirical basis for the validity and applicability of the source–channel choice model and offers insightful and prescriptive knowledge for e‐government initiatives and service providers.

In customer-intensive services, advertising can increase customers’ patience and bring more utility to customers. However, customers’ different perceptions of advertising can affect their utility and indirectly affect the decision making of the service provider. Thus, this paper uses the M/M/1 queueing model to study the optimal decision making of customer-intensive service providers in different markets according to the customers’ heterogeneity. We first classify customers into two categories: high sensitivity and low sensitivity, and then we analyze the consumption behavior of these two types of customers in the service system as the potential customer arrival rate increases. Finally, the optimal decisions of the service provider with different demands are determined. We find that the service provider can benefit from making optimal decisions based on market demand as the potential customer arrival rate increases. If the potential arrival rate exceeds a certain threshold, the service provider has more dominance in the market, and relevant decision making is no longer affected by the potential customer arrival rate. Furthermore, it is not always beneficial for the service provider to serve all customers regardless of whether there are low-sensitivity customers in the service system, and advertising can tap more highly sensitive customers and help to further increase the revenue of service providers. The results also show that ignoring the heterogeneity of customers’ sensitivity to advertising very likely leads to losses in revenue.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare different groups of customers’ perceptions (i.e. stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers) of several loyalty antecedents such as satisfaction, trust, service quality, switching costs, marketing communication, and loyalty itself. Design/methodology/approach This study was carried out based on data collected through a questionnaire from 353 telecommunication services users in Portugal and using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and analysis of variance. Findings The three types of customers – stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers – clearly differ among themselves. Stayers differ from switchers regarding their communication efforts perceptions, and from heavy switchers in their loyalty, satisfaction, and trust levels. Switchers differ from heavy switchers in their loyalty levels. Research limitations/implications Future research should examine differences between customers taking into account the impact of their personality, price sensitiveness, and orientation toward the adoption of new technologies. Practical implications As there are several differences among stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers, companies should not only recognize the heterogeneity of their customer base, but also target their marketing efforts accordingly. Originality/value This study is one of the few identifying groups of customers perception’s toward service providers. It also complements previous research by splitting them intro three different groups and by analyzing their behaviors across a set of previously unexamined marketing variables.

Natural disasters, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security (n.d.), encompass severe weather events that threaten human health and safety, property, critical infrastructure, and national security. (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2021). Chapter 10 of this text provides a comprehensive analysis of government policies, institutional frameworks, technological applications, and financial mechanisms employed in disaster management. It evaluates the effectiveness of various disaster risk reduction strategies at global, regional, and national levels, supported by case studies that illustrate best practices and lessons learned (Smith et al., 2019). Furthermore, the chapter discusses the challenges faced by governments, including bureaucratic inefficiencies, coordination issues, and resource limitations.

In coastal regions of the U.S. maritime transportation system, compelling reasons exist for implementing measures for climate change adaptation. As the effects of climate change amplify the impacts of natural hazards, a critical aspect of the nation’s overall resiliency includes the ability of the maritime and coastal sectors to recover effectively from external shocks and to adapt to changing environmental conditions in order to continue to provide the services the nation relies upon for economic viability and homeland security. This requires adaptation for physical infrastructure as well as organizational, operational, and community elements throughout the maritime transportation system. This paper provides a literature review of port climate adaptation approaches, which highlights the established need and opportunities for collaboration among coastal stakeholders to implement climate adaptation in port communities. The current lack of federal support in the United States for climate adaptation in the maritime sector emphasizes the need for novel methods and approaches to facilitate adaptation at individual port and regional levels. A case study from the port community of Hampton Roads, Virginia provides an example of the time and effort dedicated to stakeholder collaboration to encourage local understanding of climate risks in order to facilitate successful adaptation.

Rebuilding after Katrina: A Population-Based Study of Labor and Human Rights in New Orleans