Achieving reduced production cycle times via effective control of key factors of the P-K equation

In the current environment of flash semiconductor market, competitive cycle times are the key to success. Cycle Time (CT) reduction can be achieved by process time elimination and equipment performance improvement, but also by optimized WIP management policy. In this paper, we discuss how significant CT reductions are attained via the effective change of parameter values of the governing WIP management policy of a semiconductor factory. A full factorial Design of Experiments (DOE) was performed, and several parameters were examined. The impact on the coefficient of variability of departure rate (CDR) and CT was evaluated. Results have clearly shown that by changing the values of these parameters, significant cycle time reductions of up to 13% can be achieved.