2005 Industry Vision Forecast.

This article focuses on the challenges for electronics industries in the year 2005. According to John Spofford from Agilent Technologies, the biggest challenges will be lead-free solder issues and the presence of hidden joints in products. The cost of undetected failure is substantial and can affect millions of units. As liability and risk move further back in the value chain, this increases contract manufacturers' focus on quality. Ken Bliss of Bliss Industries says that one challenge will be getting engineers to realize that changes are needed and getting management to understand that changes may cost money up front, but can pay off if done correctly.