Simulation Based Study of Safety Stocks under Short-Term Demand Volatility in Integrated Device Manufacturing.

© IEOM Society InternationalA problem faced by integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) relates to fluctuating demand and can be reflected in long-term demand, middle-term demand, and short-term demand fluctuations. This paper explores safety stock under short term demand fluctuations in integrated device manufacturing. The manufacturing flow of integrated circuits is conceptualized into front end and back end operations with a die bank in between. Using a model of the back-end operations of integrated circuit manufacturing, simulation experiments were conducted based on three scenarios namely a production environment of low demand volatility and high capacity reliability (Scenario A), an environment with lower capacity reliability than scenario A (Scenario B), and an environment of high demand volatility and low capacity reliability (Scenario C). Results show trade-off relation between inventory levels and delivery performance with varied degree of severity between the different scenarios studied. Generally, higher safety stock levels are required to achieve competitive delivery performance as uncertainty in demand increases and manufacturing capability reliability decreases. Back-end cycle time are also found to have detrimental impact on delivery performance as the cycle time increases. It is suggested that success of finished goods safety stock policy relies significantly on having appropriate capacity amongst others to support fluctuations

Energy challenges for ICT

The energy consumption from the expanding use of information and communications technology (ICT) is unsustainable with present drivers, and it will impact heavily on the future climate change. However, ICT devices have the potential to contribute signi - cantly to the reduction of CO2 emission and enhance resource e ciency in other sectors, e.g., transportation (through intelligent transportation and advanced driver assistance systems and self-driving vehicles), heating (through smart building control), and manu- facturing (through digital automation based on smart autonomous sensors). To address the energy sustainability of ICT and capture the full potential of ICT in resource e - ciency, a multidisciplinary ICT-energy community needs to be brought together cover- ing devices, microarchitectures, ultra large-scale integration (ULSI), high-performance computing (HPC), energy harvesting, energy storage, system design, embedded sys- tems, e cient electronics, static analysis, and computation. In this chapter, we introduce challenges and opportunities in this emerging eld and a common framework to strive towards energy-sustainable ICT

Application Of Logistics Simulations For Scaling Up A Semiconductor Pilot Line: A Case Study

Our study presents a comprehensive approach to upscaling pilot lines in the semiconductor industry, combining logistics simulation with discrete event simulation (DES) to achieve operational excellence. Based on both existing literature and partner company requirements, our five-step methodology facilitated the transition of a pilot line to medium-volume series production within a brownfield factory environment. We validated the effectiveness of DES in production planning and control (PPC) and demonstrated its application in a real-world planning task encompassing multiple facets of production system planning and optimization. Given the expected increase in brownfield factory planning within the semiconductor industry, our structured methodology provides a valuable pathway to enhance operational efficiency and competitiveness in that context. This case study underscores the vital role of DES in optimizing production systems, enabling informed decision-making and significant cost savings

Designing Smart Services: A System Dynamics-Based Business Modeling Method for IoT-Enabled Maintenance Services

This paper reports on a design science research project aiming to develop a method to support business decision-making regarding IoT-enabled maintenance services for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Often, these OEMs remain reluctant to make full use of recent advances in the Internet of Things (IoT), sensor technologies and data analytics for providing services on installed equipment with Asset Owners (AOs). These new developments allow them to advance on their servitization journeys from selling products to selling product-centered services. The method is based on System dynamics (SD), a powerful modeling methodology to capture all these complexities in an integral, coherent and visible manner with all stakeholders. It also allows for a quantitative analysis of the business case for “smart maintenance services”. The paper describes servitization, smart (i.e. digitally enabled) mainte-nance services and then the method itself. A case study illustrates the application of the method for an OEM in the semiconductor industry

Redesigning work organizations and technologies: experiences from European projects

Currently distributed business process (re) design (resulting in components of business networks) basically relies on technical criteria. And that are the main purposes of most research projects supported by EC. Through the process of building a European Research Area, this means a strong influence in the national research programmes. However it is generally accepted that it should also take into account social criteria and aspects such as the quality of working life, or participation in decision processes. Those were some of the objectives of projects in de 80s decade, and framed some of the main concepts and scientific approaches to work organisation. The democratic participation of network and organisations members in the design process is a critical success factor. This is not accepted by everyone, but is based in sufficient case studies. Nevertheless, in order to achieve an optimization that can satisfying the requirements of agility of a network of enterprises, more complex design methods must be developed. Thus, the support to the collaborative design of distributed work in a network of enterprises, through a concurrent approaching business processes, work organisation and task content is a key factor to achieve such purposes. Increasing needs in terms of amounts of information, agility, and support for collaboration without time and space constrains, imposes the use of a computer-based model.business process; networks; decision processes; collaborative design;