Developing the methodology to improve productivity within an integrated 200-mm fabricator

Customer satisfaction in the semiconductor business depends on the ability of manufacturers to provide on-time delivery of quality products. To meet this objective without increasing resources, fabricator productivity must be maximized. At the IBM Microelectronics Division 200-mm semiconductor fabricator in Essex Junction, Vermont, the alternate work schedule (AWS) N1 Team enhanced its productivity by giving responsibility for this key measurement to a team of three nonmanagers. This paper describes how the team increased productivity to a point equal to or better than the measurement stipulated in the fabricator's strategic operating plan. Referred to as the OF-OUT Team, the group focused on moving 14 individual departments comprising the N1 Team to a working arrangement that focused on the team as a whole rather than on the sum of its parts. This concept placed a premium on people working together as a team so that the productivity of each individual could be maximized. By adhering to this concept, the N1 Team realized a 4.7% increase in average daily operational productivity over its first six months without an increase in resources. This improvement occurred by setting one goal for the entire team, challenging the individual operators to find the procedural changes necessary to meet this goal and by bringing people together from different departments to solve problems that ordinarily would be outside their areas of control. The teamwork approach to operational productivity is used today by various departments to examine how they do business and to look for opportunities where this change in strategy can benefit both other departments and the N1 Team as a whole.