Arrangement and method for detecting sequential processing effects in manufacturing using predetermined sequences within runs

Abstract

An arrangement and method for detecting sequential processing effects on products to be manufactured in a manufacturing process orders a first set of the products in a first specified processing sequence for a first process step in the manufacturing process. In order to prevent any positional trend created at one process step from being carried over into the next process step, the first set of the products is re-ordered into a second, different specified processing sequence for a second process step in the manufacturing process. Data regarding responses of the first set of the products to the process steps are extracted. The extracted data are correlated with the first and second processing sequences and data analysis is performed on the correlated extracted data. These steps are repeated for subsequent sets of the products, so that although the specified processing sequence is different for each of the individual process steps for a set of products, the same processing sequences for the individual processing steps are used for subsequent sets of the products to be manufactured. Since the processing sequences are not randomized from set to set and do not have to be provided to a database, the amounts of interfacing and disk storage needed are greatly reduced.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.