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www.us-tech.com
October, 2021
Industry 4.0 is a Journey, Not a
Destination: an Interview with ASM’s Jeff Timms
By Michael Skinner, Editor
ly well during the pandemic. While some companies were more prepared than others to adjust and embrace new protocols, the experience caused everyone to evaluate oper- ational gaps to ensure resilience in the future. ASM Assembly Systems has been a
D
major proponent of smart factory technolo- gies, many of which were used effectively during the pandemic. Following is a tran- script of an interview we conducted with Jeff Timms, general manager of ASM Americas, in which we discussed these and many other topics. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity:
MS: Hopefully, we’re on the other side of the COVID pandemic. What lessons were learned both by ASM and its customers?
JT: Though ASM had spent considerable time and resource developing digital tools in the years leading up to 2020, the pandemic forced us to accelerate the adoption of remote working, training, demos, sales and tech sup- port.
Our preparation and what we thought
was a “good idea” became a life-sustaining effort during COVID. Remote Smart Factory allowed on-the-fly line diagnostics and reso- lution without the need for a live tech service call, in most cases. With our Remote Center of Competence,
we were able to conduct meaningful, in-depth demonstrations with Q&A, proof-of-concept and proof-of-design in a virtual environment. And, with the ASM Academy remote training suite, customers maximized downtime by upskilling their engineering teams and tracking progress. Customer feedback about ASM Academy
training technology was overwhelmingly pos- itive and a clear differentiator. We’ve seen adoption of these tools increase significantly, indicating that more companies are investing in technologies that secure resiliency for future unknowns.
espite some major adjustments in day- to-day business and operations, the electronics industry has fared relative-
MS: ASM took a philanthropic approach dur- ing the pandemic, offering ASM Academy for free to customers, prioritizing delivery of sys- tems for medical device manufacturers, etc. Can you discuss this a bit and the impact of these decisions?
JT: One of ASM’s core values is social responsibility. We felt that it was necessary and the right thing to do to prioritize equip- ment delivery to anyone building lifesaving medical devices like ventilators.
training software at no charge for several months to facilitate our customers’ workforce development efforts. Everything we did sup- ported industry, our community, accelerated ASM’s and our customers’ recovery, and built tremendous trust and loyalty as well.
MS: Professionally, what has been the sum of your experience during the pandemic? Did you have to make any hard decisions that you wrestled with as an exec of ASM? What advice would you give a less experienced manager in the industry if something like this were to happen again?
JT: The simple answer to this is yes. We had to make many tough decisions and will con- tinue to need to make such decisions going forward. Having said this, however, I’ve often commented that “Almost nothing is ever quite as bad as it seems and almost nothing is ever quite as good as it seems.” I think it takes a steady position, the def-
inition of a solid direction and the prioritiza- tion of employee and customer safety to keep everyone moving on the right path. In the first three months of the pandemic, my primary concerns were ensuring volumes were at a level to meet customer requirements and maintaining employment for our people, both of which we were able to achieve. Naturally, safety was critical and we
Jeff Timms stands in ASM’s Remote Center of Competence, from which the company has held many successful virtual demonstrations.
In the Americas, there were more than
20 customers to whom this applied and, as you’d expect, there were zero complaints from other customers (non-medical) who saw slight delivery delays because of this deci- sion. Likewise, we offered ASM Academy
analyzed every situation and travel necessity with that in mind. Fortunately, we had a very low infection rate among ASM Americas staff. Throughout the last year and half, our team demonstrated their commitment to ASM and our customers; the pandemic truly showed what our organization is made of, and I am so proud of this team. Personally, as a very social person, I am
glad to get back to a somewhat normal work routine. I guess we could say it is our “new normal.” At ASM in the U.S., we have adopt- ed a combination of “work from home” and “work from office.” The organic collaboration and relationship building that happens in person cannot be underestimated, so being back in the office and resuming face-to-face customer meetings is a welcome change.
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