Abstract
This research discusses how the lean process improvement can enhance the production performance and competitive advantage of optronics module and IC testing factories in Taiwan. Traditional process improvement concepts have focused on the value-added parts of the process and often overlooked other non-value-added activities which contain the potential wastes in the existing process. Our research applies the concept of lean production for process improvement which holds the potential of eliminating all kinds of wastes in many avoidable or unavoidable non-value-added activities in the module manufacturing processes. This research focuses on the practices in optronics module assembly and IC testing lines, including the processes for LCD panel, LCD backlight, and transceiver module manufacturing, as well as IC inspection. This research uses on-site observations and date collections for gaining insights on relating the process improvement program activities and performance. Supplementary interviews are also used to analyze and confirm how the case teams improve their manufacturing process with lean production concepts. The study then generalizes and clarifies the relationships among the improvement scopes, programs, waste reduction areas, and performance to form an integrated model for lean production practices in module manufacturing. This research finally constructs a follow-up improvement situation in one of the case study to test this model’s ability to identify further improvement opportunities and program focus for possible acceleration of lean improvement progress.