Ridgetop View eNewsletter

The Ridgetop View eNewsletter Issue 10
January 2012

CEO's Corner

Reducing Life Cycle Costs on Complex Systems

By Doug Goodman

Inline Image With large cuts to the defense budget, much attention is being focused on reducing the overall cost of ownership. Aircraft and systems must last for decades operating in severe environments. It has been shown that system life-cycle costs can be reduced with condition-based maintenance (CBM). Instead of scheduling maintenance by an arbitrary number of hours or equal time intervals, CBM schedules the equipment maintenance based on its physical condition. Systems subjected to different environments will have different wear patterns and CBM can reduce support costs through scheduling based on condition.

Pinpoint IC Defects with Precision Current Testing

Would you like to make current measurements 50 to 1,000 times faster than your current ATE equipment and at the same time improve the measurement quality by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude? Ridgetop Europe, a subsidiary of Ridgetop Group, can help you reduce test costs dramatically and yet produce the highest quality electronic products.

Solve Interconnect Reliability Issues Using Flip-Chip Testing with SJ BIST™

Ridgetop's SJ BIST provides you with a digital solution for ongoing monitoring of interconnection reliability in advanced flip-chip package types. You can use it at final package test in the factory to weed out faulty parts, or after the flip-chip package is deployed in the field to detect degrading connections and intermittent failures. The technology is also extensible to handle new 3D implementations and high-density connector applications.

Is Your Network Healthy? Find Out Today with Sentinel Network™

Inline Image Do you know the state of health of your network? If your company is like most, you probably wait until a problem occurs before taking action. By then it may be too late. Fortunately, there is a solution: Sentinel Network can provide you with a simple and clean user interface to visualize the health of the network. Sentinel Network is a web-based application that combines network monitoring and prognostic health management (PHM) technologies. The main feature of Sentinel Network is its ability to predict the remaining useful life of network assets, such as power supplies.

Ridgetop Group Signs Contract with Boeing for Prognostic Condition-Based Maintenance Technology Development

Ridgetop Group, Inc. announced the award of a 30-month contract with The Boeing Company in Mesa, AZ to supply advanced condition-based maintenance (CBM) technology for Boeing's AH-64 Apache helicopter. Ridgetop will be supporting Boeing in the development of prognostic models for the Apache's electrical system, to predict the remaining useful life of selected electrical components and wiring.

Ridgetop Group Recommended for Prestigious AS9100C Quality Certification

Ridgetop Group, Inc. announced that it has reached a new milestone in its quest for excellence by receiving recommendation from Management Certification of North America (MCNA) for the prestigious AS9100C Quality Management System certification. Final review and approval is pending. AS9100 is a rigorous international quality and safety management system standard specifically for the aircraft, space and defense industry, both civil and military. Revision C contains many more stringent qualifications than prior revisions, including expanded internal audit requirements.