Using DEA for relative efficiency analysis of wafer fabrication facilities

Semiconductor industry is capital-incentive, competitive, and having complicated manufacturing processes. It is essential to utilize resources efficiently to provide products and services for maintaining competitive advantages. Knowing whether the resource is properly utilized is the foundation for future improvements and/or production decision. Due to the disparate units involved, direct evaluation and comparison among the fabs is difficult. This study aims to develop a two-stage model for relative comparison on fabrication operations by adopting data envelopment analysis (DEA). The proposed model clearly defines and differentiates the performance of fab production, and provides an overall performance index while considering different aspects.