Development and implementation the range management system in a multi-flow fabricator

Semiconductor manufacturers are continually working to reduce time-to-market in an effort to improve serviceability while decreasing operating costs. IBMs Microelectronics Division semiconductor manufacturing facility in Essex Junction, Vermont, recently embarked upon an initiative to accomplish this with a comprehensive operations management system. Operations management is a system that groups wafer processing operations into 24-hour segments, or ranges, incorporating the raw process times of each processing operation with the required cycle time of the fabricator. Each day, work in process (WIP) is moved within each range of each manufacturing operation during a 24-hour period, thereby creating a productivity flow through the entire line. By reducing the variability of a lines operations, inventory and cycle time can be reduced and customer demands met. This paper discusses the philosophy, planning, and implementation of the operations management system in this fabricator. It will also discuss traditional operations management and the theory of constraint management, as well as how, through a team-oriented effort, the process was modified to fit this multi-flow, multi-technology process line. Results, challenges and the learning derived as a result of implementing this management system will also be shared.