Abstract
The research used Key component Journey analysis, process time sequence analysis, and root-cause analysis to identify and diagnose inefficiencies in a wafer reclaim factory. Identified problems include high proportion of work-in-process idle time in excess of 90%, prolonged operation cycle time, and insufficient equipment performance measurement, etc, due to various reasons such as process line design and operational management problems. Corrective measures were recommended. The study further used line balance techniques, design of experiment, and simulation to analyze the production line balance. Using indices such as ROI (Return On Investment), WIP size and takt time/production rate as performance measures for the revised line design, the study suggested that batch size and buffer size can be used to fine tune the process design with significant efficiency improvements. Although the case study used a wafer reclaim factory as an example the diagnosis methodology is applicable for analyzing inefficiencies of any generic factory.