Electronics and PCB assembly: Lean software for electronics manufacturing and PCB assembly
LeanSuite runs the daily routines of an electronics manufacturing or PCB assembly plant in one place. SMT changeovers and first article and ESD checks run as checklists with photo evidence. IPC certifications sit in a skills matrix, and solder defects and test failures go to an owner for a fix.
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The problem
What slows electronics and PCB assembly plants down
Electronics plants build many board types in small lots. Workmanship is judged against IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 at the class the customer sets, ESD control follows ANSI/ESD S20.20, and automotive, medical and aerospace work adds IATF 16949, ISO 13485 or AS9100. Here is where that slows them down.
SMT changeovers in high mix
A high-mix SMT line can change jobs several times a shift. Feeder setups, stencil and program changes and the first board check all stop the line, and a reel loaded in the wrong slot shows up later as wrong parts at AOI.
Solder defects and touch-up rework
Bridges, opens, insufficient solder, tombstones and voids are found at AOI, X-ray or test and fixed by hand. Touch-up keeps boards moving, but when nobody counts defects by cause and stage, the same defect is reworked every week instead of fixed at the printer, the profile or the pad design.
First article on new jobs and revisions
Before a lot runs, the first board of a new job or revision is checked against the bill of materials, the assembly drawing and the customer's class: every part, value and polarity. On paper the check is slow, it holds the line, and the record is hard to find when a customer asks for it.
ESD control that slips between audits
Wrist straps, heel grounders, mats, ionizers and ESD packaging all need checking, and a missed check rarely fails anything that day. Damage can be latent, so a board passes test and fails later in the field. That is why ESD audits have to happen on every shift, not only before a customer visit.
IPC certification on every shift
Inspection, hand soldering and rework are often limited to people trained and certified to IPC-A-610, J-STD-001 or IPC-7711/7721, and certificates lapse. When the certified people are on one shift, the others wait for an inspection sign-off or put someone uncertified on the job.
Test failures and no fault found
Boards that fail in-circuit or functional test go to a repair bench, where a technician finds the fault, or finds none and retests. Without the cause written down, repeat failures and no-fault-found returns never reach engineering.
Shortages at kitting
A job is kitted, then a reel turns out short, a part is missing or a moisture-sensitive part has run past its floor life. The line waits or the job is split. The lost time is rarely logged, so the same shortages come back.
How LeanSuite helps
How LeanSuite helps electronics and PCB assembly plants
Each problem maps to a LeanSuite module you can start with on its own, then connect to the rest.
SMT changeovers in high mix
In LeanSuite: Run each changeover as a visual checklist in Lean Creator and require a photo on the steps that matter most. Missing items are flagged from the tablet as issues, and step timings show where time goes. Vision AI can also film a changeover, separate internal from external tasks and recommend a leaner sequence.
Solder defects and touch-up rework
In LeanSuite: Issue Management logs each defect where it is found. The Quality Matrix puts a cost on it across product lines and processes, and Kaizen & Projects runs the root-cause project and verifies the fix.
Quality Prioritization MatrixCost of Poor QualityNon-Conformance (NCR)
First article on new jobs and revisions
In LeanSuite: Build the first article check in Lean Creator as a checklist with number limits, required photos and signatures. An out-of-spec answer can raise a tag or start a CAPA automatically, and you walk into any customer or internal audit with a time-stamped record of every check.
ESD control that slips between audits
In LeanSuite: Build the ESD audit in Lean Creator, or let the AI draft it, and schedule it in Daily Standard Work to a person, a role or a machine, with a repeat rule. Auditors complete it on a phone or tablet with photo evidence where required, and every non-conformance becomes a tracked action with an owner.
IPC certification on every shift
In LeanSuite: Competency Management keeps a live skills matrix whose levels update as people complete training and on-the-job sign-offs. Refresher courses reassign themselves, for example yearly, and late training shows as overdue. The Job Cover Matrix filters qualified, available people by shift, department or proficiency.
Test failures and no fault found
In LeanSuite: Each non-conformance is captured with photos and routed to quality and engineering. Containment tasks, such as quarantining a batch, are assigned and time-stamped before root cause analysis starts. Systemic issues run through 8D or DMAIC in Kaizen & Projects, and the fix goes to every affected operator as a One-Point Lesson before the NCR closes.
Shortages at kitting
In LeanSuite: Log lost production by cause, from breakdowns and changeovers to material shortages, and use it to fix maintenance and scheduling. Operators scan a QR code, add a photo and a category, and the issue goes to the right owner with a due date and reminders.
Customers
Companies that use LeanSuite
Whirlpool case study
How Whirlpool tackled project visibility and continuous improvement across 14 manufacturing plants with LeanSuite.
Its Global Kaizen Power Pitch saw 150 Kaizen presented, $14.8M in hard savings and $17.6M in soft savings.
14
Manufacturing plants
150
Kaizen presented at the Global Kaizen Power Pitch
$14.8M
Hard savings
$17.6M
Soft savings
What getting started looks like
Under a week
Until your first module is live; our team does the setup
$3,000
90-day pilot per facility
One flat price per facility
Unlimited users, so adding people does not change the price
99.5%
Monthly uptime commitment in the service agreement
SOC 2 Type 1 audited, hosted on secure cloud infrastructure, with single sign-on through Microsoft Entra ID or Okta and employee-ID sign-in for operators without email. Details on the security page.
Want to try it on one line first? See how the 90-day pilot works.
Free tools
Related free calculators
Work out the numbers behind these problems. Each calculator shows its formula and a worked example, with no sign-up.
DPMO and sigma level calculator
DPMO, defects per unit, yield and sigma level from the defects found, units checked and opportunities per unit.
Open calculatorFirst pass yield (FPY) calculator
First pass yield at each step and rolled throughput yield (RTY) across the whole process.
Open calculatorSMED changeover calculator
Time saved by moving changeover steps from internal to external, capacity freed per week and the smaller batch it allows.
Open calculatorLine balancing calculator
Line efficiency, balance delay and the minimum number of stations from station times and takt.
Open calculator
FAQ
Questions from electronics and PCB assembly plants
Yes, as skills you define. Each certification is a skill in Competency Management with the people who hold it, and levels update as training and on-the-job sign-offs are completed. Refresher courses reassign themselves, for example yearly, and late training shows as overdue, so a lapsing certificate is visible before an audit finds it. The certification itself comes from your IPC training program; LeanSuite keeps the record.
Yes, as a checklist you build in Lean Creator, with number limits, required photos and signatures on the steps that need them. An out-of-spec answer can raise a tag or start a CAPA automatically, and every completed check is time-stamped. Your own first article rules (which boards, which revisions, which characteristics) stay yours; LeanSuite runs and records them.
No. LeanSuite is not a certification and does not make a plant compliant with IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, ANSI/ESD S20.20, ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 13485 or AS9100. It helps teams run and evidence the routines those standards and customers call for, such as ESD audits, training records and corrective actions, with a time-stamped record of every check and action that can be exported for the auditor.
No. An MES records what was built, with which parts, on which line, and your traceability and test data stay there. LeanSuite runs the improvement system around it: finding problems, fixing them and keeping the fix in place through standards, audits and training.
LeanSuite is one flat price per facility with unlimited users, so every operator on every shift can use it without adding seats. There is no published annual price; you can request a quote on the pricing page. The first module is live in under a week, and LeanSuite's team does the setup. A 90-day pilot costs $3,000 per facility.
See LeanSuite on your SMT line and inspection routines
Bring the routine you want to fix first. We will show you how LeanSuite handles it and what a 90-day pilot would cover.