A skill matrix template for electronics and embedded systems companies (free download)

Most electronics units already own a skill chart. Usually it is a printed grid in the supervisor's cabin, last touched before the latest product change. The version below is written for this trade. It names the actual tasks on an SMT line, at the hot-air rework station and at the test jig, and it records who signed each level and when.

Copy the lines into a spreadsheet, one column per item and one row per person. That sheet is the download. Our page on electronics HR explains why fine assembly, frequent revisions and customer audits make this record weigh more here than in most plants.

Columns A to F: employee code, name, role, shift, line or bench, date of joining.
SMT: stencil printing, squeegee pressure and under-stencil wipe.
SMT: solder paste inspection review and paste-height judgement.
SMT: feeder loading, splicing and reel verification by scan.
SMT: pick and place program change, nozzle selection and fiducial teach.
SMT: reflow profile check with a thermocouple-fitted board.
Hand work: through-hole soldering and lead trimming.
Hand work: drag soldering of fine-pitch gull-wing leads.
Hand work: QFN and BGA removal and replacement at the hot-air station.
Hand work: conformal coating, masking and cure check under UV light.
Inspection: AOI false-call review and defect coding.
Inspection: microscope check against the customer's workmanship sample.
Test: in-circuit or flying-probe operation and first-off verification.
Test: functional jig operation and firmware flashing with checksum check.
Handling: wrist strap and heel grounder test, moisture-sensitive part baking, dry-cabinet log.
Lab: bring-up support with multimeter, oscilloscope and logic analyser.
Per task: level, date signed, proposed by, checked by, board family, re-check due.
Levels: 0 untrained, 1 works under supervision, 2 works alone, 3 checks others, 4 trains and signs others.

Change the rows to fit the unit. A bare-board fabricator swaps the SMT rows for drilling, dry-film imaging, plating and etching. A sensor maker adds diaphragm bonding, potting and calibration. Keep the five levels identical everywhere, so a level 2 carries one meaning on every bench.

1. 1

   The line lead proposes

   Once someone has worked a task under supervision long enough, the line lead proposes the next level and names the board family they will be checked on.

2. 2

   A trainer or quality engineer checks

   The check is practical: a real board or a sample panel, inspected under magnification or run through the jig. Talking through the task does not count.

3. 3

   The checker signs the same day

   Level, date, board family and checker's name go in that day. Entries written from memory at month end are what make auditors doubt a grid.

4. 4

   HR holds the master

   One master copy, read-only for everyone else, so rival versions do not grow on two desktops. Any printout carries its print date in the corner.

A line lead should not sign their own team alone. Two names, one proposing and one checking, keep the grid honest when output pressure peaks. The page on sign-off ladders for SMT benches shows how a sign-off ladder of this kind is built.

• Each week, per shift: every task with only one person at level 2 or higher. That person cannot take leave without the task stopping.
• Before each new board or revision: which levels still hold, and which need a fresh check because the part, stencil or test program changed.
• Monthly: tasks done rarely, such as BGA replacement twice a year. A level not exercised for months is a level on paper only.
• Before a customer audit: pick one named operator per product and trace the row back to the signed record and the checked board.

With a current sheet, the weekly read takes ten minutes. Shade the single-name cells. Next month's training plan is simply the shaded cells.

Levels belong to a board family, not to a person in general. A move from a 0603 passive to a 0402, a switch to a lead-free alloy with a hotter profile, or a new fine-pitch connector can make yesterday's level 2 a level 1 today. Mark affected cells at the release review for the revision. Re-check those operators on the first pilot boards.

A grid that never changes anyone's pay is soon ignored by the people on it. Publish what each level is worth, or at least that each level moves pay. Operators then ask to be checked, and the sheet stays current because they want it to. Compensation benchmarking for PCB assembly covers setting the steps against nearby units.

• Levels signed in bulk after an audit notice, which gives every row the same date and makes every row suspect.
• Soldering recorded as one skill, when through-hole joints and fine-pitch rework are years apart.
• Temporary or contractor-supplied operators left off the sheet, though they build the same boards.
• Levels never lowered after a failed re-check or a long gap since the task was last done.

For a from-scratch grid on any shop floor, read the general build guide. For a record kept by customer and task, the EMS employee information page shows the layout auditors tend to ask for.