Making It Cheaper Doesn't Always Make It Better

July 10, 2008
E-mails are a wonderfully efficient way to share information with colleagues, but they do not replace face-to-face visits. During a lunch-time visit yesterday with some old friends from a microwave frequency synthesizer design-and-manufacturing house, a ...

E-mails are a wonderfully efficient way to share information with colleagues, but they do not replace face-to-face visits. During a lunch-time visit yesterday with some old friends from a microwave frequency synthesizer design-and-manufacturing house, a point was made about many customers' drive for lower costs because they were faced with providing lower costs to their customers. While a careful review of assembly procedures, parts and materials, and even printed-circuit-board (PCB) layouts can sometimes reveal ways to shave costs, cost-saving strategies can often result in a compromise somewhere else, such as in performance or reliability.

Manufacturing processes can be automated to cut time and expense, supported by equipment from such companies as Palomar Technologies (see the news item below), but the trade offs in cost reduction should always be understood, if not always shared with a customer before the cost-cutting measures are undertaken. In the case of my lunch-time companions, it became clear that many of the customers were involved in direct or indirect military applications, and performance and reliability were not issues that could be part of a debate involving reduced costs. Reducing the cost for a "disposable" electronic product, such as a cellular telephone, may be acceptable and even necessary in a competitive market, but there is never a reason for cutting corners on electronic products on which lives may depend.

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.

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