Ratio of running work in progress
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsChin-Hui Hung, Chen-Chin Chen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This method provides for increasing integrated circuit production of a fabrication facility comprising collecting data from a plurality of machines, calculating of the present Ratio of Running Work (RRW), comparing present RRW to optimum RRW, checking the system to determine which machines are idle, and taking steps to increase the number of running machines. Steps taken to decrease the number of idle machines include dispatching commands to a computerized dispatching system or operators. The steps of the process are repeated to further increase RRW.
Claims19
A computer-implemented method for increasing integrated circuit production of a fabrication facility comprising the steps as follows:
- collecting data from a plurality of machines in an integrated circuit production of a fabrication facility,
- calculating a present Ratio of Running Work in Progress, RRW,
- comparing present RRW to optimum RRW,
- checking the fabrication facility to determine which machines are idle, and
- taking steps for increasing the number of running machines and taking steps for reducing the number of idle machines.
A computer-implemented method for increasing integrated circuit production of a fabrication facility including a plurality of semiconductor processing machines with a supervisor program for performing the steps comprising:
- (1) the supervisor program checks the Ratio of Running Work in Progress, RRW in said fabrication facility to determine Is RRW<Target?
- If YES, continue to (2);
- If NO, proceed to (8) to stop the program;
- (2) the supervisor program searches said fabrication facility to identify a location in said fabrication facility where the RRW is less than the local target value;
- (3) the supervisor program checks the capacity utilization to make the decision:
- Is capacity utilization of the identified location in said fabrication facility outside of a predetermined tolerable range?
- If YES, continue to (4);
- If NO, proceed to (5);
- (4) the supervisor program takes actions comprising
- (a) redispatching machines in said fabrication facility and
- (b) auditing idle machines in said fabrication facility,
- (5) the supervisor program data indicating machine availability to determine whether machine availability of the identified location in said fabrication facility is,
- If YES, continue to (6),
- If NO, proceed to (7);
- (6) The supervisor program takes actions including
- (a) redispatching machines in said fabrication facility and
- (b) auditing machines which are down,
- (7) The supervisor program determines whether there is any other location in said fabrication facility with an RRW less than the local target value, and
- If YES, return to (2),
- If NO, proceed to (8) to stop the program,
- (8) Stop the program.
A system for operating an integrated circuit fabrication facility comprising
- means for collecting data from a plurality of machines in said fabrication facility,
- means for calculating a present Ratio of Running Work in Progress, RRW,
- means for comparing present RRW to optimum RRW,
- means for checking the fabrication facility to determine which machines are idle, and
- means for increasing the number of running machines in said fabrication facility and reducing the number of idle machines in said fabrication facility.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.