IPC/WHMA-A-620 certification can be cumbersome and time consuming. We streamline the process, certify each person to the modules they actually use and help ensure certifications never lapse. All on your timeline at your facility.
IPC/WHMA-A-620, Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies, is the only industry-consensus standard for cable and harness work. It covers how crimped, soldered and mechanically secured connections get made, and what counts as acceptable once they are.
Taught to Revision F, current since October 2025.
What it sets requirements for
Harness builders, cable assemblers, inspectors and the engineers who write the process. If someone in your building crimps, solders or routes wire on product that ships, they should hold this.
A customer or registrar wants proof your harness team is trained to a recognized standard, with traceable certification behind it.
New and veteran builders are crimping and routing to tribal knowledge instead of the standard.
Twenty-four months came around faster than expected and you have people about to fall out of compliance.
You won work that names IPC/WHMA-A-620 or Class 3 in the purchase order, and now you have to show certified people on the build.
Orlando has 25 years in manufacturing, from building boards in production to QA inspection, quality engineering and training, across oil exploration, medical devices, defense electronics and space. He has run more than 500 trainings across San Diego County in the last four years, and he is a Certified IPC Trainer, authorized by IPC to teach and certify your people to the standard.
What is covered
Module 1 is required for every student. The rest let you certify people to the work they actually do. Each module covers the accept and reject criteria for all three classes and ends in an open book exam.
Module 1 is mandatory. Students can certify to any combination of modules that includes it. We will tell you whether a partial certification is a reasonable call for a role or whether it will cause you problems later.
Hands-on workmanship
The written certification proves your people know the criteria. The hands-on portion has them build a cable assembly to the standard, with the work checked against it. We confirm what your class includes on the discovery call.
We run a short discovery call to learn the nuances of your business, pick the modules that fit each role, sort out tooling if your class includes hands-on work, lock down the date, and prep you and your team.
Module 1 and the first block of modules, each followed by its open book exam. Students test the same day they learn the material rather than sitting one long exam at the end.
Run through the remaining modules and exams. Anyone who did not pass a Day 1 exam breaks away from the group for a second pass with the instructor. Hands-on work, if your class includes it, happens here.
Every student is registered by name and the certification is traceable through IPC, now the Global Electronics Association. You get the full roster for your records.
The class comes to your harness floor. The certification is identical either way. What changes is that your people never leave the building.
| Applied Conformance | An outside training center | |
|---|---|---|
| Certification | IPC certification, registered by name | The same IPC certification |
| Where | Your building | Their training center, often out of town |
| Travel | None. Nobody books a hotel | Flights, hotels and per diem on top of tuition |
| Modules | Picked per role, so nobody sits through work they never do | The full public course |
| Scheduling | Dates you pick, about a week from signed quote | The next public course date |
| Paperwork | One invoice and one roster | Separate registrations to reconcile |
Estimator
A 620 quote depends on which modules your people need and whether your class includes hands-on work, so we build each one by hand. Enter your headcount, then send it over and we will come back with the full number.
Need recertification instead of a first certification? We quote those directly. Ask us for a recert quote.
Your savings vs. a 5-day course
Your estimate
This is an estimate, not a contract.
Where should we send it?
No. Module 1 is required for every student. After that, students can certify to any combination of the remaining modules, so a crimp operator does not have to sit through coaxial cable if they never touch it. A full certification covers all eight. We will tell you honestly which modules fit each role.
They are the standard's three levels of strictness, and your certification covers all three. Class 1 is general electronic products that only have to work when you turn them on. Class 2 is dedicated service products where a failure costs money and downtime but nobody gets hurt. Class 3 is high performance and harsh environment hardware that cannot fail, like medical, aerospace and defense. The same crimp can pass Class 2 and fail Class 3, which is why we teach all three.
The certification is built on bookwork and open book exams. The hands-on portion has students build a cable assembly to the standard, and we confirm whether your class includes it on the discovery call. Hands-on work needs a workmanship kit for each student and a set of crimp tooling your facility buys once and keeps. You buy both directly, and we point you to trusted suppliers.
Cable and harness classes vary more than board classes. Module mix and hands-on work both move the number. Books, workmanship kits and crimp tooling you buy directly from suppliers we point you to. We build these quotes by hand so the number you get is the number you pay, and like every class we teach, the IPC exam credit is included rather than billed on top.
Revision F, published October 2025 and current. If your customer documentation still calls out Revision E, tell us and we will cover the differences that matter to your process.
IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 cover circuit board assemblies. IPC/WHMA-A-620 covers cables and wire harnesses. If your shop builds both, your harness people need 620 and your board people need A-610 or J-STD-001.
Not at this time. We do offer the J-STD-001 Space addendum for board-level space hardware.
Twenty-four months. IPC allows a 90 day grace period after expiration, and you can recertify up to 90 days early without losing time, since the new expiration is measured from the original date rather than the class date. We track your roster dates and come back before anyone lapses.
One to ten students in a class. Larger groups get split across consecutive days.
A conference room for the bookwork and the online exams, a computer for each student plus guest wifi, and your student roster with IPC usernames so certifications land correctly for audits. If your class includes hands-on work, you also need bench space and the crimp tooling. You buy the IPC/WHMA-A-620 book directly. We tell you which format fits and point you to a trusted supplier.
Yes. Send us your roster with expiration dates and we will schedule around them. Recertification is shorter than an initial certification and we can usually fold it into a visit where you are also certifying new hires.
Send over the headcount, the kind of harness work they do and a rough timeframe. We’ll reach out shortly to set up a quick discovery call.