1996 Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap - Civil and ...

Emerging Technologies
– Alternatives to solder plating as an etch-resist for PWB fabrication.
– Alternatives to solvent-based cleans and the use of concentrated acid/alkalis to
minimize particles, corrosion and contact resistance.
Standards: Standards are a fundamental priority in each of the industry roadmaps. The
SIA roadmap notes “…the role of standards has changed from being simply a mechanism
of the industrial revolution that allowed factories to achieve economies of scale through
reduced customization. Far from simply restricting product choices in the name of
economy, standards now often pave the way for technological advancement. In the last
two decades this change has magnified the importance of standardization as a critical
element in industrial economic and technological strategy…” [31]. Reflecting this broad
importance of standards, each of the roadmaps emphasize the importance of standards in
a variety of areas:
– Factory automation and integration: Standards are required to facilitate the
automation and integration of factory processes, emphasizing flexibility and
capability to rapidly reconfigure process lines and interoperability among the multiple
control systems that govern operations, and modularity.
– Standards for effective information interchange, especially those that support true
global interoperability of information networks.
– Standard test methods, standard reference materials, standard statistical methods, and
standard data management systems for real-time monitoring and closed loop feedback
control.
– Standard frameworks within which multiple design tools can operate efficiently as an
integrated design system, including design for environment tools.
– Standard methodologies for risk assessment and benchmarking.
The pervasive importance of standards justifies a focused industry effort to specify an
integrated agenda for standard’s development and formal initiatives to accelerate the
development, testing, dissemination, and adoption of each of the necessary standards
area.
The term standards, however, is used somewhat loosely throughout the roadmap documents—sometimes
referring to formal standards (those adopted by recognized standardsetting
organizations) and sometimes referring to “standard practices” (processes or approaches
that are so widely used they become de facto standards). For the purposes of the
integrated agenda, both types of standards should be delineated, but it should be clearly
noted where official action (i.e., voting by an official standards body) is required for the
standard to have effect or impact. This differentiation will have significant implications
for the process by which the standard is “marketed” and deployed.
Benchmarking: The importance of a focused program of benchmarking is also indicated
throughout the roadmaps. Benchmarking is a fundamental tenet of total quality management
programs, and many individual companies have established benchmarking activities
for certain processes. However, a coordinated industry-wide benchmarking program that
looks at best practices in electronics manufacturing, including benchmarking
environmental issues such as materials volumes consumed, waste production, emissions
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