The Semiconductor industry is unique in that the products are at the heart of every type of electronics, and they play a key role in virtually every other industry. The industry landscape is ever-changing and the value generation of innovation within it is huge and volatile.
Since the early days of the industry, semiconductor manufacturers have relied on Kepner-Tregoe to improve complex problem solving within their operations. The complexity of high-tech manufacturing is reflected in the oceans of data available to semiconductor manufacturing environments. While advanced monitoring and AI can maintain stability and quality in ever more precise ways, when problems do arise, engineers and technicians face increasingly rare, often never seen before, highly complex problems. Our consulting and skill development programs improve manufacturing teams’ ability to use the right data at the right time to accelerate problem solving and find quality solutions to manufacturing’s thorniest issues.
The same structured KT thinking that thrives in manufacturing is used and applied throughout semiconductor organizations. Our processes streamline and improve customer support and incident management. Our teams help executives plan the best way forward, make capital investment decisions, and integrate risk management and reduction into their work. KT analytic processes are “evergreen,” not tied to a specific technology: they provide the semiconductor industry with a common problem-solving and decision-making language that improves the way work is done across functions and geographies
To learn more about Kepner-Tregoe consulting and training in the Semiconductor industry, contact Kepner-Tregoe.
During development of a new semiconductor process at Tokyo Electron, the process began to exhibit poor thickness repeatability. This was blamed on tool-to-tool variances and addressed by tuning the process. Eighteen months after installation, the tool was still unreliable.
months to resolve 18-month-old problem
Using KT rational process, an 18-month old problem was resolved in two months, full confidence in the state-of-the-art tool was restored, and the relationship between TEL and the client was strengthened.
At a Siemens plant that produces custom logic and memory chips, a corrosion problem occasionally developed on aluminum interconnects, and chips had to be discarded. For ten years—since production first began—the problem resurfaced every few months but defied resolution.
effective corrective action
reduced material costs
The corrective action proved to be 100% effective, and production was converted to the new process. Eliminating the faulty steps reduced material costs by €108,000. More important, production delays disappeared, customer satisfaction improved, and Siemens saved €2.8 million in losses due to defects.
loss avoided
Training is about improving individual and team performances, and in turn influencing the overall performance of your organization. The organizations that approach training as a learning journey rather than a one-time event enable employees, and hence their companies to stay relevant in the rapidly transforming landscape.
The digital disruption in manufacturing creates a dynamic landscape where Operational Excellence (OE) strives for stability, quality, and efficiency while continuing to service an increasingly demanding customer. Some OE foundations for an increasingly digital operation are outlined in this white paper.
Identifying and using the right data is at the heart of effective problem solving and decision making. To stay afloat in the vast ocean of available data that can support complex problem solving, consider these three foundational actions.
Beginning and sustaining an improvement journey can often mean fighting naysayers, inertia and reluctance to change work routines, even the bad ones. Yet, the perfect marriage of a continuous improvement culture and effective production management creates consistent, world-class performance.
For inquiries, details, or a proposal!
