ALTEX Process Engineer Lee Payton completed training on the most recent revision to the wire harness and cable industry’s consensus standard for fabrication and installation, IPC-WHMA-A-620B. The Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies is an industry developed and approved program that includes training, certification, and instructional materials based on the most recent revision to industry-accepted standards.
“We knew it was important to be knowledgeable of any changes or updates to industry standards and this training allowed me to become certified in order to return to ALTEX and train our own staff as part of our ongoing continuing education program for our employees,” shared Payton. 
While industry standards are always adhered to at ALTEX, internal company standards take things beyond acceptable standards. For example, industry standards may allow for a small amount of wire nicking as acceptable for production. Internal standards require no wire nicking at all on any ALTEX produced product.
“I’ve been in this industry for over 14 years now and feel like the revision to the standards will be a great thing for us to incorporate into our staff training. I will begin by training key personnel including our floor supervisor, technicians, machine operators and get them certified initially,” shared Payton. “Then, we will continue to provide the training to other staff on a more modular or specific training aspect of the standards.”

The training is just one piece of ALTEX’s priority for encouraging growth among their employees while continuing to offer clients peace of mind that industry standards are top-of-mind in production efforts.
“We feel as though the use of the IPC-WHMA-A-620 standards has become accepted lingo industry-wide,” Payton said. “It isn’t unusual now to see on prints a directive that would indicate to ‘Build according to IPC-WHMA-A-620 Standards’ instead of a long list of bullet points indicating specific directives.”
The Wiring Harness Manufacturer’s Association has trained thousands of individuals on the comprehensive and technically accurate program. This most recent revision to the originally published written standards was developed during a six-year-process by members from user- and supplier-companies and represents a consensus among industry leaders. ALTEX’s President is a member of the board of directors for the Wiring Harness Manufacturer’s Association. His appointment will run through 2015.