Sens. Tom Carper (D Del) and Sherrod Brown (D Ohio) wrote “Federal agencies, including those within the DOD, do not have effective policies or specific processes in place for detecting, tracking and preventing the use of counterfeit parts,” (see full article) I am not sure how much homework the Senators have done. The DOD adopted SAE’s procedural document AS5553 titled Counterfeit Electronic Parts; Avoidance, Detection, Mitigation, and Disposition in October 0f 2009 (see information). Sure, more can can be done, but to say that there are no “effective or specific processes” is not a valid evaluation.
Robb Hammond is the founder and CEO of AERI, an independent electronic component distributor operating since 1994. He is a founding member and former committee chair of SAE AS6081, the counterfeit-avoidance standard for independent distributors adopted by the U.S. Department of Defense, and a recognized authority on counterfeit detection.
