In
2013, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) launched a
certification program that allows printed board manufacturers to show their
commitment and concern to protect customers’ intellectual property by complying
with industry best practices.
In
a press release, Michael Mosan, the vice president of global technology of TTM
Technologies averred that the protection of intellectual property is extremely
important in the electronics industry.” He further said that IPC’s new
Intellectual Property Protection Program is designed to help improve facilities’
programs and ultimately get them certified to a university standard.
The
electronic manufacturing certification
process was based on IPC-1071 also known as Best Practices for Intellectual
Property Protection in Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing. It is designed to
regulate the electronic manufacturing processes for commercial, military,
industrial and high reliability markets. It was developed with help and input
from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), assembly companies and printed
circuit board manufacturers.
The
certification process encompasses a facility audit that is anchored on a 130-question
evaluation that examines the specific areas that involved physical facility
security, information technology security and compliance to specific
regulations including ITAR and EAR.
The
audit questionnaire covers specific categories. These are related to the main
categories in the IPC-1071 standard which also includes corporate policy,
employee training, emergency procedures, supply chain, vendor management, destruction
of scrap materials and many more.
The Certification
Process
Electronic
manufacturing organizations that want to be certified are required to submit to
a certification process. There’s not much pressure here because interested
organization can go through the process at their own pace. They have three
levels of audit to choose from, depending on their level of needs:
- Level 1, Basic Intellectual
Property Protection, best suited for manufacturing facilities that produce
high-volume consumer goods.
- Level 2, High Intellectual
Property Protection, best suited for manufacturing facilities that produce
high-value goods.
- Level 3, Advanced Level for
Military, Government and Commercial Intellectual Property Protection,
designed for military and high-security systems.
Requiring
participating organizations to obtain electronic manufacturing certification is
one of the most significant campaigns of IPC. It works to ensure the protection
of manufacturers’ intellectual rights and guarantee the reliability and quality
of their finished products.
Source:
IPC.org
