What is Quality 4.0 and How Does it Impact Industrial PCB Development?

One interesting thing about history is that it is unavoidable. If you are alive then you are a part of it whether you want to be or not. Participation is not required for historical events to have an impact on you. The only choice you do have is to embrace them and perhaps gain from them or not to and maybe suffer for it. Currently, we are well into a historic revolution in industrial production, namely Industry 4.0. And it impacts your PCB development whether you want it to or not.

As more and more smart factories have chosen to embrace Industry 4.0, the question of how best to leverage the associated concepts and tools; such as IoT, robotics, and advanced manufacturing, arises. One philosophy that is gaining traction as a means of maximizing the production of goods is to adopt a more comprehensive approach, known as Quality 4.0. This approach is similar to what is done in the aerospace and medical devices industries. For these industries, standards have been instituted that ensure the entire supply chain meets specified quality guidelines. These standards, AS9100D for aerospace and ISO 13485 for medical devices, place the onus for quality assurance on the product developers, which are the factories for industrial production.

In order to meet the quality standards for aerospace and medical devices, requirements are also placed on the suppliers of components and devices to the developers. The parallel for this is to include the design and manufacturing of industrial PCBs and systems that enable industrial production. Prior to looking at how this approach impacts your development of industrial boards, let’s definitively answer the question: What is Quality 4.0?

What is Quality 4.0?

As you have probably already guessed, Quality 4.0 is related to Industry 4.0. Actually, it is more than related, it is motivated by it. Industry 4.0 is the latest transformation in the way products are made that emphasizes data control and management. Optimizing the processes and methods for acquiring, processing, and disseminating data are at the heart of smart production operations. This ranges from the industrial encoders, which monitor and control machinery and equipment, to the industrial IoT systems, which transfer data to other in-house systems, to the computing systems that communicate with on-site managers and even other external facilities.

The best way to understand Quality 4.0 is by looking at the premises or axes upon which it is based contrasted with traditional quality approaches. As defined by LNS Research in [1], these are listed below.

The 11 Axes of Quality 4.0

Traditional vs Quality 4.0 Emphasis
Focus Axes	Traditional Method	Quality 4.0 Enhancement
Data	Fragmented, slow and low to medium volume data acquisition with low veracity	Connected, high velocity and high volume data acquisition for high veracity and transparency
Analytics	Traditional metrics (i.e. trend analysis)	Application of big data or machine intelligence (MI) for data analysis
Connectivity	Separate IT and OT	Connecting IT and OT
Collaboration	Mostly internal and isolated from suppliers and customers	Incorporating a blockchain that includes all shareholders (i.e. suppliers, manufacturers, management, customers, etc.)
App Development	Web and phone-based for users	Role-based to include suppliers, operations and users for more relevance for the user
Scalability	Limited, isolated and on-site	Unlimited, connected and cloud-based
Management Systems	Software-based process automation	Connecting automated processes and automating their interaction
Compliance	Custom electronic data management (EDM), business process management (BPM), data transfer and compliance services	Connected, automated and configurable EDM, BPM, data transfer and compliance services
Culture	Emphasizing cross-functionality to institute a culture of quality	Empowering individuals with responsibility and transparent, connected access to establish a culture of quality
Leadership	Objective aligned	Extending to executive ownership and establishing quality KPI
Competency	Based on individual expertise and experiences	Prioritize training and share experiences to improve expertise

At first glance, the list above may seem broad. As Quality 4.0 does touch a number of operational and managerial areas, they are all interconnected by the objective to establish a level of industrial production quality that is consistent with the goals of industry 4.0. And for factories to realize this objective requires that the developers of their systems, devices, and PCBAs are onboard.

Building PCBAs to Meet the Requirements of Quality 4.0

The overriding goal of Industry 4.0 is to manufacture products more efficiently. This objective has not changed since the inception of industrial production. What has changed are the philosophies, principles, techniques, and tools that are available. Today, the most advanced manufacturing strategies are focused on maximal utilization of the data acquisition, processing, and distribution capabilities afforded by IoT. Additionally, the importance of transparency, collaboration, and quality ownership by all members of the supply chain is necessary. For developing industrial boards this means incorporating the following essentials into the process.

The Keys to Quality 4.0 Industrial PCBA Development

• Auditable Development

The development process should be open and transparent. This means a white box approach should be instituted for design and manufacturing that lends itself to an industrial forensics review, where each stage of development beginning with R&D is documented and available for analytical evaluation.

• Traceable Components

The ability to trace all components back to their manufacturer is essential. This not only serves to promote the use of high-quality components from well-established suppliers but also reduces the probability for counterfeits that may not meet performance objectives.

• Automated Data Transfer

Data automation is one of the basic tenets of not only Quality 4.0, but IoT itself. Therefore, methods to reliably transfer data and information between shareholders should be established and utilized. These must include effective cybersecurity measures.

Quality 4.0 is a raising of the bar for industrial production. To implement this advanced approach to quality requires that the factory makes a commitment to optimizing their operations by utilizing advanced technologies that are leveraged for IIoT. The best implementation of this strategy requires collaboration with suppliers and developers of the systems used to make their products.