Implementation of overall equipment efficiency methodology in the semiconductor test facility ER: Equipment reliability and productivity improvement

Abstract

The equipment efficiency plays a great role in the profitability of a manufacturing company. It impacts the throughput, cycle times, costs, and return on investment in manufacturing capacity. This article presents the implementation case study of an Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) metric and improvement methods in the semiconductor backend facility (Final Test and Sort). The case study will show an effective combination of a fully automated OEE measurement system, company-wide personnel training, and Lean Six Sigma tools to achieve a substantial improvement in factory output. The methodology includes four main components: 1. Systems development and implementation 2. Bottleneck (BN) management procedures 3. OEE improvement teams 4. Adjustment of the operations management procedures Supported by the OEE metric to manage and improve the BN performance, the facility increased its output, in less than eight weeks, by ∼18%.