Establishing continuous flow manufacturing in a Wafertest-environment via value stream design

“Learning to see” is the message of the powerful Value Stream Mapping (VSM) technique, which was developed within the lean production paradigm to help practitioners redesign production systems, eliminate waste and create continuous flow manufacturing in a high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environment. It was originally developed mainly for disconnected flow lines of the automotive industry. In this contribution, both the adaption of this method to the characteristics of semiconductor manufacturing and its application in a Wafertest environment at Infineon Technologies, an important frontend site for microcontroller manufacturing, are shown. The article provides guidelines on how to implement continuous flow manufacturing into typical semiconductor production areas. The advantages of this production principle, as well as the special expenditures during the implementation, are demonstrated.