Accelerating productivity: key to industry prosperity
10/01/2008
ISMI ??? it’s all about productivity: increasing output and decreasing costs. It’s where the rubber meets the road, where R&D meets manufacturing, as you’ll see in this special issue of Solid State Technology. ISMI’s program portfolio covers the spectrum from fundamental cost reduction activities in today’s fabs and the development of near-term enabling infrastructure, to the long-term transition to next-generation fabs. Collectively, ISMI’s collaborative programs contribute to the manufacturing success of our member companies, and provide valuable insight into the priorities of our industry and its leading chipmakers.
Some keywords for ISMI activities are time, energy, data, performance, cycle time, information, and productivity. Time is important not only for our productivity improvement objectives at a high level, but also for optimal performance of our manufacturing fabs. In that context, the very data used to manage and control our fabs must be synchronized with accurate timekeeping across hundreds of production equipment types and thousands of wafers. In fact, millisecond resolution is required in some cases.
Energy conservation impacts all of our lives worldwide. As manufacturers, we care deeply about our environment, and about our budgets. ISMI member fabs are acutely focused on energy reduction, with an urgency that is driven by cost-saving opportunities as well as a strong desire to minimize the environmental footprint of our factories.
Cycle time is a key success factor for manufacturing operations, and ISMI member companies want to reduce cycle time by 50% in their fabs. Our Next Generation Fab (NGF) program is dedicated to this important goal.
At ISMI, we believe reducing costs and increasing productivity is critical for the long-term prosperity of our industry. We are determined to succeed in accelerating manufacturing productivity through the creative collaboration of manufacturing experts from around the globe. It’s an exciting and rewarding endeavor!
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Scott Kramer,
Vice President of
Manufacturing Technology,
International SEMATECH
Manufacturing Initiative