About SigmaTron

International

SigmaTron International (NASDAQ:SGMA) is a full service EMS provider with a network of manufacturing facilities in the United States, Mexico, China and Vietnam. We focus on companies who want highly customized service plus a scalable global manufacturing footprint. We serve a diversified set of markets which include: aero-space/defense, appliance,

consumer electronics, gaming, fitness, industrial electronics, med-ical/life sciences, semiconductor, telecommunications and automo-tive. Our quality certifications include ISO 9001:2008, ISO 13485:2003 and AS9100C. We are also International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) regis-tered.

Inside this issue:

EGV Opns Director 2

EGV Quality Director 4

Volume 3, Issue 3 Third Quarter 2015

assigned to the project. SigmaTron’s program

team has worked closely with Federal Signal

to create an automated system that includes:

(Continued on page 2)

EGV is Federal Signal’s Supplier of the Year

Vietnam Facility’s System Strategy Cuts Time, Cost

SigmaTron International’s Elk

Grove Village (EGV), IL facili-

ty was named Supplier of the

Year by Federal Signal. The

facility builds printed circuit

board assemblies (PCBAs)

and electro-mechanical subas-

semblies for this customer.

There are over 100 different

product types.

“This project has been a good

example of the level of part-

nership that can be achieved

when customers and our team

work together to discuss pro-

ject goals and the best path to achieve them,”

said Jim Barnes, the EGV facility’s Vice Presi-

dent of Operations.

Jody Hearn is the Program Manager at EGV

Low cost doesn’t translate to low use of tech-

nology in SigmaTron International’s facility in

in Biên Hòa, Dong Nai province, Vietnam.

Its systems strategy is focused on four key

areas:

Minimizing non-recurring engineering ac-

tivities

Eliminating defect opportunities

Enhancing internal, supply chain and cus-

tomer visibility throughout the product

realization process

Maximizing economies of scale by linking

with centralized procurement and engi-

neering resources

“We’ve had ERP system linkage since 2012

and have been adding internally developed

systems over the last year. Today, we utilize a

mix of standardized system platforms com-

bined with a suite of internally-developed

software tools to support areas the core off-

the-shelf systems don’t handle as well. We

believe that systems cost is easily offset by

reductions in engineering labor, excess inven-

tory and cycle times, said Peter Sognefest,

the facility’s General Manager and Director

of Operations.

The facility has transitioned to an automated

data transfer process. This reduces the po-

tential for manually-induced errors in docu-

mentation transfer and programming, plus

the overall time required for new product

introduction (NPI) activities. Bills of material

(BOMs) are loaded into a Macola ES ERP

system to drive materials acquisition. All

documentation is also released into an Agile

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system,

(Continued on page 3)

Above, (L-R) Donna Maslovitz from Federal Signal with EGV’s Jody

Hearn and Jim Barnes at Federal Signal’s Supplier Awards event.

Page 2

Dereck Moore Named EGV Director of Operations

Supplier Award

Dereck Moore recently joined SigmaTron In-

ternational’s Elk Grove Village (EGV), IL facil-

Finished Goods (FG) Kanbans: The

majority of the assemblies are re-

leased under FG Kanban programs.

The inventory is replenished as con-

sumed and adjustments are made when

demand trends change.

Linkage with Supplier Self-Service

Website: Kanban releases, confirma-

tions and forecasts are accessed

through the customer’s website. EGV’s

team also updates the customer’s plan-

ners weekly on work-in-process (WIP),

FG and estimated time of arrival (ETA)

via this portal.

Customized Reports: EGV’s team has

created customized color-coded re-

ports that the customer uses to track

defined metrics of on-time delivery

(OTD) based on combined inventory

levels.

Efficiency Improvements: SigmaTron

(Continued from page 1) and Federal Signal have partnered to

find ways to streamline daily opera-

tions such as redefining Kanban sizing

and identifying slower assemblies to

remove from the Kanban program.

Quarterly Business Reviews

(QBR): EGV holds a regular

QBR. This has provided a forum to

discuss previous, current, and future

challenges, successes, as well as

new ideas. Federal Signal now

wants this to become the template

for all their top suppliers.

Design for Manufacturability/

Testability (DFM/DFT): EGV has

provided DFM/DFT recommenda-

tions both as a respond to customer

engineering requests and proactive-

ly on new product.

Goals: The customer has set several

stocking level performance goals

that EGV was able to achieve and

exceed.

The end result of this partnership ap-

proach is a well-managed program that

achieves customer goals in spite of a

high mix of products and demand varia-

bility.

ity as Director of Operations. He previ-

ously served as Production Manager at

KeyTronic EMS. He was earlier associat-

ed with ACDI, Lighting Science and Jabil

in a variety of plant, operations and

production management positions.

“EGV is growing and we felt the position

we’ve previously classified as manufac-

turing manager needed to be expanded

to encompass the activities of EGV as a

whole. Dereck brings 15 years of opera-

tions and production management expe-

rience that is specifically related to elec-

tronics contract manufacturing. He has a

track record of implementing programs

that improve both performance and

efficiency. In short, I see him as someone

who will help us add capabilities and

processes important to a diversifying

customer base, while helping us become

a leaner more efficient organization,”

said Jim Barnes, EGV’s Vice President of

Operations.

Dereck has extensive experience in 5S

and Lean manufacturing philosophy and

has pursued studies toward a degree in

Electronic Engineering. Dereck Moore

Spitfire Controls Gives

Page 3

Vietnam Facility

globally to provide company-wide visi-

bility into inventory levels and materials

status. Data from Tango is also linked

to the ERP system through iScore, but

not available yet externally through

Score. Customers can access Score

24/7 via the internet for project status

visibility and program management

uses iScore to stay abreast of key pro-

ject metrics. iScore is also used internal-

ly to perform “what if” analyses when

demand trends are changing or an en-

gineering change order (ECO) needs to

be implemented. This has reduced the

time to evaluate cost impacts and avail-

able inventory from days to less than

24 hours.

The results speak for themselves. The

facility has had zero rejected shipments

since its inception in 2005. On-time de-

livery is 100 percent and there have

been zero late shipments since 2005.

The bar is set high because rejected

product not only creates potential in-

ventory shortages it the customer. It also

represents wasted logistics cost and

wasted time expended in transit and

repair. The facility’s inventory turns are

averaging slightly over 7 per year.

which automates data transfer and crea-

tion of manufacturing documentation.

Design for manufacturability (DFM) anal-

ysis is performed at the start of every

project using Valor software tools. The

documentation review process also uses a

Valor parts library (VPL) to verify the

footprint of all components specified in

the BOM against the land patterns used

in the layout. This helps eliminate both the

opportunity for defects caused by manu-

facturability issues plus eliminates the non

-value added time that can be spent

reprogramming machines or re-spinning

the printed circuit board layout if compo-

nent packaging specified in BOM doesn’t

match the land patterns used in the lay-

out.

Test and inspection strategy includes au-

tomated optical inspection and electrical

and functional testing. Functional test sys-

tems include a machine vision test that

verifies products with LED control panels

have adequate light levels and colors. In

some cases, test data is provided real-

time to the customer.

The newest software addition is an inter-

nally-developed Manufacturing Execution

System (MES) software called Tango that

is used to integrate shop floor control,

quality data collection and traceability

activities. All material is bar coded at

incoming inspection and kitting priorities

are set based on demand trends. Prod-

ucts are tracked through all production

processes associated with that work or-

der. Placement and insertion equipment

self-checks any feeders based on the

work order. If a production process set is

missed, operators cannot scan the bar-

code until the missing step is completed.

Additionally, it tracks the actual opera-

tors associated with each production step,

the revision level of any software loaded

(Continued from page 1)

in the unit and the number of units complet-

ed.

At the end of the process a Customer Advo-

cacy Audit (CAA) is performed via a sample

plan and inspection strategy designed to

ensure a 99.9 percent confidence level that

no defects are present. If the sample fails

inspection, the entire shipment is inspected.

While there is a cost associated with both

sampling and any required inspections, it is

far less than the cost incurred if the shipment

was rejected at the customer.

From a defect prevention standpoint, the

lockout mechanism makes it impossible to

skip production steps or load incorrect com-

ponents into placement equipment. From a

traceability standpoint, the system maintains

a device history record which includes com-

ponents used, production processes complet-

ed, operators associated with assembly ac-

tivities and test results. This level of data

supports quick resolution of any quality is-

sues that could potentially develop.

The facility also uses SigmaTron’s proprie-

tary “iScore” system. Through this suite of

tools, the Vietnam facility and the IPO have

visibility into forecasted demand, actual

demand, inventory in each facility and inven-

tory on order. Materials systems are linked

A production operator scans a bar code prior to loading a new reel on the SMT line.

Copyright © 2015 SigmaTron International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Contact Curtis Campbell, VP Sales, West Coast Operations

Phone: 510-477-5004

Email: urtis.campbell@sigmatronintl.com

Marytherese Walk recently joined

SigmaTron International’s Elk Grove

Marytherese Walk Named EGV Director of Quality

Marytherese Walk

Village (EGV), IL facility as Director of

Quality. Previously, she was Quality Man-

ager at Omron Automotive Electronics, Inc.

She was earlier associated with Philips

Lighting Electronics, NA, Senior Flexonics,

Inc. and Webster-Hoff Corp. in a variety

of quality management, customer care

management and engineering positions.

“Marytherese has spent over two decades

working in quality management and engi-

neering positions in companies with rigor-

ous quality assurance requirements. She

has extensive experience with robust

product qualification and acceptance pro-

cesses, and a track record of driving sig-

nificant quality improvements. Her experi-

ence and expertise are strong assets as

we continue to grow and diversify a cus-

tomer base that requires superior quality,”

said Jim Barnes, EGV’s Vice President of

Operations.

Marytherese holds a Bachelor of Science

degree in mechanical engineering and a

Master of Business Adminstration degree

from Northern Illinois University. She is a

Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) and

Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) through

the American Society for Quality. She is

also an ISO/TS16949:2009 Lead Audi-

tor and a Certified Instructor for IPC-A-

610 and J-STD-0001 workmanship

standards.