Optimization of in-line semiconductor measurement rates : balancing cost and risk in a high mix, low volume environment

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-101).Due to a number of market development over the last decade, semiconductor manufacturing companies, including Intel Corporation, have added significant numbers of primarily high growth rate, high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) products to their portfolios. The rapid transition from high-volume manufacturing (HVM) to HMLV manufacturing has caused significant problems. Foremost, the needs of many HMLV customers are different from HVM customers and require different operational tradeoffs. Moreover, many of the HVM focused metrics, tools, systems and processes have proven ill-suited for managing the added complexities and more varied needs of HMLV customers. This thesis examines many of the problems caused by introducing HMLV products into an HVM wafer fabrication facility (commonly referred to as a fab), and explores potential solutions such as improved cultural and organizational alignment; capacity management and setup elimination; and scheduling and work-in-process management to name a few. Although the discussion focuses on semiconductor operations, the concepts easily generalize to other companies struggling with achieving operational excellence (OpX) in an HMLV environment. In addition to exploring the macroscopic HMLV issues, we also feature an in-depth analysis of one aspect of achieving OpX in the HMLV environment: the optimization of in-line metrology skip rates. Based on a review of the current methods, a new approach is suggested based on a Bayesian economic skip-lot model we call MOST/2. In general, MOST/2 suggests that significant cost savings can be realized with only modest increases in the material at risk per excursion if measurement rates are further reduced. Compared with the other methods analyzed, the data indicates that MOST/2(cont.) provides superior cost/risk balanced results. For the 27 operations analyzed, results include annual costs savings of over $95,000, cycle time savings of over 5.3 hours per lot, operator savings of over 4.2 people per year and metrology capacity utilization rate reductions of over 65%. Finally, a brief organizational study was conducted to identify political, cultural and strategic design changes that would bolster long-term operational excellence (OpX) in the HMLV environment. Suggested changes include better identification of customer needs, improved communication and linking between groups, modification and alignment of factory and performance metrics and the creation of a stand-alone HMLV organization.by Christopher R. Pandolfo.S.M.M.B.A

Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments

This book presents the collection of fifty two papers which were presented on the First International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY ’08 - Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments, held in Ofir, Portugal, from 25th to 27th of June, 2008. The main motive of the meeting was the growing awareness of the importance of the sustainability issue. This importance had emerged from the growing uncertainty of the market behaviour that leads to the characterization of the market, i.e. environment, as turbulent. Actually, the characterization of the environment as uncertain and turbulent reflects the fact that the traditional technocratic and/or socio-technical approaches cannot effectively and efficiently lead with the present situation. In other words, the rise of the sustainability issue means the quest for new instruments to deal with uncertainty and/or turbulence. The sustainability issue has a complex nature and solutions are sought in a wide range of domains and instruments to achieve and manage it. The domains range from environmental sustainability (referring to natural environment) through organisational and business sustainability towards social sustainability. Concerning the instruments for sustainability, they range from traditional engineering and management methodologies towards “soft” instruments such as knowledge, learning, creativity. The papers in this book address virtually whole sustainability problems space in a greater or lesser extent. However, although the uncertainty and/or turbulence, or in other words the dynamic properties, come from coupling of management, technology, learning, individuals, organisations and society, meaning that everything is at the same time effect and cause, we wanted to put the emphasis on business with the intention to address primarily the companies and their businesses. From this reason, the main title of the book is “Business Sustainability” but with the approach of coupling Management, Technology and Learning for individuals, organisations and society in Turbulent Environments. Concerning the First International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, its particularity was that it had served primarily as a learning environment in which the papers published in this book were the ground for further individual and collective growth in understanding and perception of sustainability and capacity for building new instruments for business sustainability. In that respect, the methodology of the conference work was basically dialogical, meaning promoting dialog on the papers, but also including formal paper presentations. In this way, the conference presented a rich space for satisfying different authors’ and participants’ needs. Additionally, promoting the widest and global learning environment and participativeness, the Conference Organisation provided the broadcasting over Internet of the Conference sessions, dialogical and formal presentations, for all authors’ and participants’ institutions, as an innovative Conference feature. In these terms, this book could also be understood as a complementary instrument to the Conference authors’ and participants’, but also to the wider readerships’ interested in the sustainability issues. The book brought together 97 authors from 10 countries, namely from Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Sweden and United Kingdom. The authors “ranged” from senior and renowned scientists to young researchers providing a rich and learning environment. At the end, the editors hope and would like that this book will be useful, meeting the expectation of the authors and wider readership and serving for enhancing the individual and collective learning, and to incentive further scientific development and creation of new papers. Also, the editors would use this opportunity to announce the intention to continue with new editions of the conference and subsequent editions of accompanying books on the subject of BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, the second of which is planned for year 2011.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Design and Management of Manufacturing Systems

Although the design and management of manufacturing systems have been explored in the literature for many years now, they still remain topical problems in the current scientific research. The changing market trends, globalization, the constant pressure to reduce production costs, and technical and technological progress make it necessary to search for new manufacturing methods and ways of organizing them, and to modify manufacturing system design paradigms. This book presents current research in different areas connected with the design and management of manufacturing systems and covers such subject areas as: methods supporting the design of manufacturing systems, methods of improving maintenance processes in companies, the design and improvement of manufacturing processes, the control of production processes in modern manufacturing systems production methods and techniques used in modern manufacturing systems and environmental aspects of production and their impact on the design and management of manufacturing systems. The wide range of research findings reported in this book confirms that the design of manufacturing systems is a complex problem and that the achievement of goals set for modern manufacturing systems requires interdisciplinary knowledge and the simultaneous design of the product, process and system, as well as the knowledge of modern manufacturing and organizational methods and techniques

Life Cycle & Technoeconomic Modeling

This book aims to perform an impartial analysis to evaluate the implications of the environmental costs and impacts of a wide range of technologies and energy strategies. This information is intended to be used to support decision-making by groups, including researchers, industry, regulators, and policy-makers. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis can be applied to a wide variety of technologies and energy strategies, both established and emerging. LCA is a method used to evaluate the possible environmental impacts of a product, material, process, or activity. It assesses the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of a system, from the acquisition of materials to the manufacture, use, and final disposal of a product. Technoeconomic analysis refers to cost evaluations, including production cost and life cycle cost. Often, in order to carry out technoeconomic analysis, researchers are required to obtain data on the performance of new technologies that operate on a very small scale in order to subsequently design configurations on a commercial scale and estimate the costs of such expansions. The results of the developed models help identify possible market applications and provide an estimate of long-term impacts. These methods, together with other forms of decision analysis, are very useful in the development and improvement of energy objectives, since they will serve to compare different decisions, evaluating their political and economic feasibility and providing guidance on potential financial and technological risks

Advances on Mechanics, Design Engineering and Manufacturing III

This open access book gathers contributions presented at the International Joint Conference on Mechanics, Design Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (JCM 2020), held as a web conference on June 2–4, 2020. It reports on cutting-edge topics in product design and manufacturing, such as industrial methods for integrated product and process design; innovative design; and computer-aided design. Further topics covered include virtual simulation and reverse engineering; additive manufacturing; product manufacturing; engineering methods in medicine and education; representation techniques; and nautical, aeronautics and aerospace design and modeling. The book is organized into four main parts, reflecting the focus and primary themes of the conference. The contributions presented here not only provide researchers, engineers and experts in a range of industrial engineering subfields with extensive information to support their daily work; they are also intended to stimulate new research directions, advanced applications of the methods discussed and future interdisciplinary collaborations

Research Reports: 1997 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

For the 33rd consecutive year, a NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The program was conducted by the University of Alabama in Huntsville and MSFC during the period June 2, 1997 through August 8, 1997. Operated under the auspices of the American Society for Engineering Education, the MSFC program was sponsored by the Higher Education Branch, Education Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. The basic objectives of the program, which are in the 34th year of operation nationally, are: (1) to further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members; (2) to stimulate an exchange of ideas between participants and NASA; (3) to enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of the participants' institutions; and (4) to contribute to the research objectives of the NASA centers. The Faculty Fellows spent 10 weeks at MSFC engaged in a research project compatible with their interests and background and worked in collaboration with a NASA/MSFC colleague. This document is a compilation of Fellows' reports on their research during the summer of 1997. The University of Alabama in Huntsville presents the Co-Directors' report on the administrative operations of the program. Further information can be obtained by contacting any of the editors

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures