Queue Time Reduction in Wafer Fab Process through Six Sigma Approach

In the complex and dynamic wafer fab manufacturing environment, cycle-time reduction is a key performance indicator that is always being placed on high focus. Cycle-time improvement project sometimes focuses on straight-forward and obvious KPI such as tool availability, manning ratio, dispatching rules, etc. However, a project can discover other opportunities to improve the cycle-time/ productivity when the project driver makes data-driven decision instead of heuristic decision. This paper outlines the journey of a Lean Six Sigma project aimed at cycle-time reduction that was formulated and launched by the Fab Production Control (PC) team. After the solution was fully implemented, a capacity gain of similar to 4% and a cycle-time improvement of similar to 36% is achieved from the identified tool type.