Gwangjae Yu

Samsung Uses Data-driven Approach to Manage Work-In-Process of Bottlenecks in Semiconductor Manufacturing Operations

Semiconductor manufacturing is a time-consuming and repetitive process, with cycle times ranging from one to three months. To improve market responsiveness and reduce operational costs, it is crucial to minimize the Work-in-process (WIP) throughout the manufacturing process. The bottleneck process is particularly critical since it determines the efficiency of the entire production system. Hence, it is important to decrease the WIP while ensuring the productivity of the bottleneck process. Our objective is to determine the optimal WIP level and threshold bounds for managing the WIP of bottleneck equipment. To attain this objective, we utilize optimization and statistical techniques based on real-world data, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in practical applications.