I was tasked with enhancing the testing process for both mechanical components and PCBA units. Previously, the testing procedure lacked consistency and clarity, leading to suboptimal quality assessments. The process was time-consuming and not operator friendly, and there was uncertainty regarding the criteria for defining a unit as either PASS or FAIL. My objective was to streamline the process, increase its reliability, software improvement, and ensure clear, actionable results.
The old process did not include documentation of the unit’s serial number and required manual rotation by the test operator in order to perform the test. This process was flawed and led to numerous inaccuracies in determining the final PASS/FAIL result.
In the new process, I planned full automation of the test, including improvements to the software for more reliable testing. I reduced the test duration to 13 seconds, down from one or even two minutes.
Safety features: The test door cannot be opened during the test to prevent an operator’s hair or hand from getting caught in the machine.
The result:
Testing is 7 times faster, much more reliable, and fully automated for the operator. With a simple calculation, 5,000 units per year, multiplied by 90 seconds of test time, results in a total of 7,500 test hours in the old process. In contrast, the new process only takes 1,083 hours (5,000 units * 13 seconds), saving almost 6,500 working hours!
The tester is placed at the subcontractor.