Christmas Rush Increases Need for Repair and Rework
Christmas Rush Increases Need for Repair and Rework
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The Christmas rush as always puts pressure on OEMs to get consumer goods to market on time. However, with more and more high-volume manufacturing being put off-shore, there’s less scope for returning products to source if problems arise. Here Steve Wilks of Axiom Manufacturing Services looks at the opportunity this is creating for UK companies who have the ability to offer aftercare services in rework, repair and re-manufacture.
The migration of high volume manufacturing to low cost regions such as Eastern Europe and the Far East has been fuelled by the desire to reduce costs and streamline operations.
However, while UK-owned OEMs are achieving high quality products through their partnerships with these off-shore operations, faults will inevitably come to light from time to time.
When they do crop up, the OEM’s ability to commission repair and rework from the original production plant is severely limited by distance, time, communications and the demands of the market.
So, faced with tight deadlines and logistical constraints, they are turning increasingly to those UK partners who can readily absorb this type of this work. Indeed they are making partnerships with such firms as an integral part of their international infrastructure and overall product offering.
As a former OEM, Axiom - now one of Britain’s top 20 EMS providers - is in the happy position of having retained the knowledge and skill within its workforce to be able to provide the calibre repair and re-work support needed by today’s OEMs.
Its wide-ranging manufacturing capability to serve specialist markets as diverse as industrial, medical, defence and aerospace, combined with its heritage as a top consumer electronics producer, has enabled the firm to adapt its skill base to offer expertise in aftercare services within rework and repair.
With the ever-present pressure to reduce costs, the trend towards off-shoring production is bound to continue for the foreseeable future. This is being reflected in the growth of a world market for repair and rework, which stood at $4 billion in 2003 but, according to analysts Frost and Sullivan, is expected to expand to $14 billion by 2009.
Certainly the UK market is accounting for a very significant proportion of this work and we at Axiom are confident we will secure an important slice of that emerging market as time goes on. Comments Steve Wilks
He goes on to say that while the manufacture of such high-volume products has been migrating eastwards, we have very deliberately maintained and in fact enhanced, the relevant engineering knowledge and skill To undertake OEM support services.
Contractors to UK OEM customers face mounting pressure to meet constraints on lead-time and to respond to changing customer demand. Those contract manufacturers, which can also offer outsourced repair and rework aftercare services are well-placed to meet this demand if they are relatively local to the customer and can guarantee consistency in terms of quality and speed of response.
Some of these EMS providers provide repair and rework as part of a portfolio of services while others – usually smaller operations – focus exclusively on this service.
Axiom has a rare attribute among providers in that it possesses many of the specialist skills, and leading-edge equipment associated with niche sector manufacturers yet it can, because of its previous 20-year OEM history, respond rapidly to demands for high-volume repair or rework requirements, using classic mass-production techniques while continuing to ensure quality.
A legacy of the OEM era which has kept pace with the times is Axiom’s Market Quality Investigation Centre (MQIC), designed to analyse product faults on receipt, ratifying and checking for integrity.
Via the product validation, Axiom MQIC is able to confirm whether the perceived fault is the main source of the actual fault, and will offer instant, high quality feedback to the respective design and manufacturing hub.
With high-quality standards integral to Axiom’s entire approach, staff are equipped to operate within a variety o f sectors, working to standards such as ISO9001, ISO14001, AS9100 and TS16949..
With staff trained to IPC-A-610D standards, the processes applied by Axiom ensures that the finished assembly is built in accordance with IPC-A-610..
In ‘emergency’ situations where a large batch of products requires work, the company can deskill the whole process by using a ‘production line’ approach, which is supported by a (300 000 sq/ft) purpose built facility..
Axiom’s MQIC core capability is in the repair and refurbishment of a wide variety of products – from consumer products through to PCBA’s for military use, and is able to repair products to graded condition or new with minimum spoilage by utilising the £1.5 million investment made in new equipment during 2006 and 2007,During the final stages, comprehensive tests are undertaken on the products to ensure that they will satisfy customer and subsequent end-user expectations.
In addition to the financial dynamics of the international electronics industry, the emergence of UK-based repair and rework market is also driven forward by growing environmental obligations placed on OEMs.
Particular drivers include the WEEE directive which came into force at the beginning of this year.
Appropriately-equipped UK-based EMS providers can expect to secure aftercare contracts that will help OEMs to achieve the recycling and recovery targets set for them by the EU under this landmark directive..
While the opportunities are increasing there are nevertheless significant barriers to entry to the aftercare market.
For example the requirement for high technological capability and supply chain infrastructure will present a hurdle to some EMS providers
Those however who have the core manufacturing skills and have invested in the technological and environmental good practices to meet the demands of this market can look forward to growing opportunities in the months and years ahead.
Steve Wilks is commercial director of Axiom Manufacturing Services.
