October, 2017
www.us-tech.com
Page 51 Keeping the Electronics Supply Chain Clean Continued from previous page
certifications. “There’s always a risk, because we do not know how the manufacturer controls its inventory or supply chain. We have to imple- ment the counterfeit risk mitigation process,” says Baldassarre. “We don’t trust anyone.”
Filtering out Counterfeits That approach becomes even
more important when a customer re- quests an unusual part, one not available from Future Electronics’ franchise manufacturers or other distributors. In such a case, the com- pany may have to use other sources to obtain the part. “We achieve this through a
strict vendor screening and manage- ment process, established partner- ships with a broad and deep network of OEM suppliers,” says Baldassarre. “Every product must first pass through one of our quality control fa- cilities for a complete quality inspec- tion and, if needed, advanced in- house testing by our certified techni- cians. Our strict vendor quality man- agement policies exceed industry standards. The process of our quality management program ensures that essential counterfeit detection and preventive processes are securely in place.” If the part comes from a less- er-known supplier in China — a major source of counterfeit parts — that poses a big risk. But, if the part survives all questions and tests, it is shipped. A similar level of scrutiny is ap-
plied to any returned parts, whether they came initially from a franchised or independent supplier. Returns can occur when a customer decides not to use a part, for any of a number of reasons. But, Baldassarre says, “Anything that does not follow the usual course of our secure supply chain is considered a risk. We follow AS6496, primarily utilized for the re- turn of product from customers.” Re- turns are also subject to the full in- spection process, starting with the label and packaging, which are checked for signs of tampering. “If it looks like it has been tampered with, we don’t deal with it,” he says. “We scrap the parts. We don’t put them back into the supply chain.” At any point in this comprehen-
sive inspection process, when a com- ponent is identified as counterfeit, the AES standard requires the company to take certain actions. “We quaran- tine the lot,” says Baldassarre. “We need to record that in GIDEP or ERAI.” These are industry-wide anti- counterfeiting databases that record the part number, manufacturer, source, and other data. “We have to look at the issues, the traceability, to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” If necessary, the source may be dis- qualified. “We will never do business with them again. We also destroy the parts,” he says. A certificate of destruction be-
comes one more piece of the compa- ny’s extensive documentation that tracks the multitudes of parts flow- ing through it.
X-Ray Inspection Some of the most critical steps
in locating and identifying counter- feit parts take place in Future Elec- tronics’ laboratories, located in its American, European and Asian facil- ities, where a variety of inspection
See at productronica, Hall A2 Booth 516/5
procedures are performed. One of these is real-time X-ray inspection, for which the company uses Jewel Box 70T and 90T systems provided by Glenbrook Technologies of Ran- dolph, New Jersey. These high-reso- lution, low-dose systems, which offer up to 2,000X magnification, are par- ticularly useful for non-destructive inspection of BGAs and other dense- ly-populated, complex components. Baldassarre finds the Jewel Box
systems very reliable. “We use them every day and they haven’t broken down,” he says. In terms of price-per- formance, Baldassarre considers them “one of the better ones in that class.”
While visitors to Future Elec-
tronics have commented on the high degree of automation used through- out the company’s extensive facili- ties, there is one system that Baldas- sarre has not installed in the labora- tory: reel-to-reel X-ray inspection. “The system inspects very quickly,” he explains, leading to a lot of false alarms. “You always need an inspec- tor to review it and continue the in- spection. I think the best is using your eyes,” he says. “It’s better to have the inspector place the part in the X-ray system and then view it on the screen.” As highly automated as Future Electronics’ inspection process may
be, the human element —making use of extensive training and certifica- tion, plus state-of-the-art technology — remains at the core of the compa- ny. This bolsters its commitment to maintaining the integrity of the glob- al supply chain for its customers in the aerospace, military and medical industries. Contact: Future Electronics, 236
Hymus Boulevard, Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada H9R 5C7 % 514- 694-7710 fax: 514-695-3707 Web:
www.futureelectronics.com and Glenbrook Technologies, Inc., 11 Emery Avenue, Randolph, NJ 07869 % 973-361-8866 fax: 973-361-9286 Web:
www.glenbrooktech.com r
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