PIEK is always glad to hear customers’ opinions and impressions, and we are delighted when customers praise us. This gives us an extra boost to keep improving our certification and recertification courses and keep adjusting our services to the latest developments. It also confirms that PIEK wants to take customers’ desires and needs into account, so that it can grow long-lasting, loyal customer relations. It has made PIEK the go-to global player in the electronic interconnect industry for over 50 years.
We would like to share one of the comments with you here:
IPC certifications by PIEK International
I am currently working as a CTO at Lucius & Baer Gmbh, and in 2012 I started looking for IPC courses on the Internet. That is when I chanced upon the PIEK International website. I opted for PIEK because they do the full range of IPC courses, from IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 to IPC-7711/7721 and much more. Besides, not just the CIS (specialist) level but also the CIT and MIT (trainer) levels are covered.
At this moment there is no supplier in Germany offering the full package. Because I wanted to train staff internally myself, I made use of PIEK’s offer to do an IPC course in the Netherlands. At first, I was a bit sceptical because of the large geographical distance between Heerlen and my own city, southern Munich. This is where PIEK’s flexibility came in, as they have two options in such cases: either they come to you for an in-company course or they do a regional course near you.
I must compliment PIEK and its instructors on their work. By now we have finished the 11th certification course, nine of which took place in Heerlen and two in Bretten (near Karlsruhe). The first certifications were J-STD-001E, IPC-A-610E, IPC/WHMA-A-620A and IPC-7711B/7721B with IPC Master trainer Wim Bodelier.
They were top-quality courses. This is the reason why we are sticking with PIEK for all certifications and re-certifications. Various teaching methods are used for the theoretical parts of the courses, and excellent video material is used to complement the perhaps boring IPC presentations. Many interesting real-life examples and relevant background information are discussed, and demonstration products are reviewed by the participants. Questions from the participants elicit elaborate answers from the instructors, including references to real-life cases.
For the practical side of the courses equipment is always available from high-end manufacturers. This allows participants to try out various systems by various manufacturers. The equipment is always the latest possible and always in top condition. The choice of practice material is vast and the depth of the courses is great, going well beyond the requirements made by IPC. I personally had the privilege, for example, to hand solder with the Finepitch (0.4 mm) chip elements to 0201 and to solder and de-solder a BGA element with a BGA rework station.
For working, inspecting and checking materials both purely optical and electronic microscopes are available. The support by the trainers was perfect, and I learned many tips and tricks that I can apply to my work, thanks to my trainer Wim Bodelier.
In conclusion, I can certainly recommend a certification course with PIEK, not only because the whole team is constantly seeking to optimise the courses offered, but for all the reasons sketched above. Two recertification courses have convinced me that PIEK teaches you new things over and over again. A big thank you to the PIEK team.