Internationalisation of Innovation: Why Chip Design Moving to Asia

This paper will appear in International Journal of Innovation Management, special issue in honor of Keith Pavitt, (Peter Augsdoerfer, Jonathan Sapsed, and James Utterback, guest editors), forthcoming. Among Keith Pavitt's many contributions to the study of innovation is the proposition that physical proximity is advantageous for innovative activities that involve highly complex technological knowledge But chip design, a process that creates the greatest value in the electronics industry and that requires highly complex knowledge, is experiencing a massive dispersion to leading Asian electronics exporting countries. To explain why chip design is moving to Asia, the paper draws on interviews with 60 companies and 15 research institutions that are doing leading-edge chip design in Asia. I demonstrate that "pull" and "policy" factors explain what attracts design to particular locations. But to get to the root causes that shift the balance in favor of geographical decentralization, I examine "push" factors, i.e. changes in design methodology ("system-on-chip design") and organization ("vertical specialization" within global design networks). The resultant increase in knowledge mobility explains why chip design - that, in Pavitt's framework is not supposed to move - is moving from the traditional centers to a few new specialized design clusters in Asia. A completely revised and updated version has been published as: " Complexity and Internationalisation of Innovation: Why is Chip Design Moving to Asia?," in International Journal of Innovation Management, special issue in honour of Keith Pavitt, Vol. 9,1: 47-73.

Sustaining Total Quality Management: Examining In Process Analysis And Layout Design At Inari Technology Sdn Bhd

Pelaksanakan program Pengurusan Kualiti Menyeluruh (TQM) adalah lebih daripada hanya memasang sistem dan prosedur. Implementing a Total Quality Management (TQM) program is more than simply installing systems and procedures

Analysis of the Material Resource Planning (MRP) II system in an electronic manufacturing company

by Wong Ching-Ngok.Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 37).TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iiiChapterChapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1Chapter II --- METHODOLOGY --- p.5Chapter III --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.7Chapter IV --- ANALYSIS --- p.13Equator --- p.13Data Standards --- p.15Supply Standard --- p.15Capacity/Tradeoffs --- p.17Yield --- p.18Cycle Time --- p.18Master Data --- p.18Stage Process Codes --- p.19Planning Device --- p.22Demand Standard --- p.23Customer --- p.24Forecasting Device --- p.26Inventory Target --- p.26Demand Prioritization --- p.26Product --- p.27Request for Product --- p.28Bill of Material Standards --- p.28Chapter V --- CONCLUSION/COMMENTS --- p.32Employee Feedback --- p.32Customer Comments --- p.33Looking Forward --- p.34BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.3

High fidelity simulation models for equipment performance prediction in semiconductor industry

Semiconductor manufacturing is a high-technology industry which is capital intensive and operationally complex with its process technology refreshed every two years. Precision in capacity planning is critical to ensure the right amount of capital equipment is purchased to match the demand while meeting aggressive cost and operational targets. The key input parameter for capacity calculations is the equipment output rate. As equipment get more complex, its output rate become difficult to predict using spreadsheets, thus the need for detailed dynamic equipment simulation models. However, literature on how to build detailed equipment simulation models for real-world is scarce. Practitioners do not share their experience openly due to proprietary reasons. This dissertation investigates the complexity of semiconductor manufacturing which makes its capacity planning difficult. The techniques to build, verify and validate high fidelity equipment simulation models were developed. The models are then used to augment capacity planning and productivity improvement decision making. Case studies are conducted using the models to improve capacity forecast planning accuracy for capital purchase decisions which resulted in million dollars capital avoidance, test equipment productivity improvement ideas and decide which ones have benefits to pursue, and determine the effect of different operator manning ratios for manufacturing execution decisions. The results show that raw model accuracy can be up to 99% using the methods described here. For manufacturing execution, model accuracy can be up to 95% due to variability in human performance, but good enough to provide insights on manning ratio strategies. The case studies demonstrate how the results directly contribute to company performance in terms of capital efficiency, capital expenditure avoidance, and waste reduction. It enables optimal equipment configuration decisions to be made upfront during technology development. It also earns credibility and senior management confidence in using such simulation models for decision making

JTEC Panel report on electronic manufacturing and packaging in Japan

This report summarizes the status of electronic manufacturing and packaging technology in Japan in comparison to that in the United States, and its impact on competition in electronic manufacturing in general. In addition to electronic manufacturing technologies, the report covers technology and manufacturing infrastructure, electronics manufacturing and assembly, quality assurance and reliability in the Japanese electronics industry, and successful product realization strategies. The panel found that Japan leads the United States in almost every electronics packaging technology. Japan clearly has achieved a strategic advantage in electronics production and process technologies. Panel members believe that Japanese competitors could be leading U.S. firms by as much as a decade in some electronics process technologies

Microprocessor manufacturing throuhput time variability

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1994, and Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (p. ).by Jason Ku.M.S

Forecasting mix-sensitive semiconductor fabrication tool set requirements under demand uncertainty

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, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-75).by Alison L. Page.S.M.M.B.A

Rapid Advance: High Technology in China in the Global Electronic Age

This study examines how a critical high technology industry in China, the semiconductor industry, advanced from being an isolated, centrally planned industry in the mid 1980s to being an important participant in the competitive global semiconductor industry after 2000. The research examines the most important trends, projects, and enterprises in China, with attention to China's global partners and China's rapidly growing role in the world economy. In the 1990s, semiconductor enterprises in China proactively made key structural changes and global linkages that set the stage for the industry's growth after 2000. The study thus provides an industry level assessment of how reforms and technological upgrading occurred in contemporary China, including the degree and character of so-called state led development. This research also shows that the development of this high technology industry had direct and positive effects on China's larger business environment and trade policies. Finally, this study compares the development of the semiconductor industry in China with its development in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, identifying differences in national approaches and the effects of the global information revolution