Method and System for Providing Automatic and Accurate Manufacturing Delivery Schedule

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a method and a system for providing automatic and accurate manufacturing delivery schedule without human operations. The method and system receive a delivery schedule, monitor performance of at least one manufacturing process to produce a specific lot of a product based on a plurality of statistical process control rules, and automatically revise a priority of the specific lot of the product if a statistical process control rule is violated. By using statistical process control methods and rules to monitor lot production performance, lot priority may be automatically revised to assure on-time delivery.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that the figures and accompanying description are directed to different embodiments, or examples, that benefit from the present invention. The invention, of course, is defined by the claims provided at the end of the specification.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer network environment in which one exemplary embodiment of a scheduling system can be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary scheduling system and method according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a further the scheduling system and method shown in FIG. 2, with additional detail provided for the sake of further example;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of a method for use by the scheduling system described in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of a method for monitoring performance of a specific lot of a product based on lot cycle time, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of a method for monitoring performance of a specific lot of a product based on stage cycle time, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary graph of required cycle time vs. production dates for a single lot;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary graph of cycle times for all lots that are produced;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary graph of cycle time in a manufacturing stage required to produce a single lot; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams of exemplary lot cycle times and corresponding probability regions, respectively.

Claims

1. A method for scheduling product delivery in a manufacturing environment including a plurality of manufacturing processes, the method comprising: receiving a delivery schedule;determining a priority for a product based on the delivery schedule;dispatching the product with the determined priority to a manufacturing production system;repeatedly monitoring a performance of at least one manufacturing process based on at least one statistical process control rule; andautomatically revising the priority of the product if the at least one statistical process control rule is violated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the delivery schedule is received from a manufacturing facility process control system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the delivery schedule is received from a supply chain.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving a delivery schedule comprises: receiving a requested number of products from a customer and product information from the manufacturing facility process control system;receiving a delivery date specified by the customer from a vendor system of the supply chain; anddetermining a delivery schedule from the requested number of products, product information, and delivery date.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one statistical process control rule is based on a lot cycle time and further comprises: comparing a required cycle time of a specific lot of the product against an upper boundary and a lower boundary; anddetermining if the required cycle time is outside of the upper boundary and the lower boundary.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein automatically revising a priority comprises: automatically revising the priority of a specific lot of the product if the required cycle time is outside of the upper boundary and the lower boundary; andsending a revised priority to the manufacturing production system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one statistical process control rule is based on a lot cycle time and further comprises: comparing a required cycle time of a specific lot of the product against an average cycle time of all lots of the product; anddetermining if the required cycle time is below the average cycle time.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein automatically revising a priority comprises: automatically revising the priority of the specific lot of the product if the required cycle time is below the average cycle time; andsending a revised priority to a manufacturing production system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically revising a priority comprises: automatically upgrading the priority of a specific lot of the product if the required cycle time is too slow; andautomatically downgrading the priority of the specific lot of the product if the required cycle time is too fast.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising: confirming a revision of the priority with the manufacturing production system;continuing the at least one manufacturing process to produce the product based on a revised priority; anddispatching in real-time.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one statistical process control rule is based on a stage cycle time and further comprises: comparing a required cycle time of a specific lot of the product in a manufacturing stage against an upper boundary and a lower boundary in the manufacturing stage; anddetermining if the required cycle time is outside of the upper boundary and the lower boundary.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: identifying at least one key tool;identifying at least one feasible real-time dispatching rule; andsending the at least one key tool and the at least one feasible real-time dispatching rule to the manufacturing production system.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: generating a key tool allocation report based on the at least one key tool.

14. A system for providing automatic delivery schedule accuracy in a facility for fabricating semiconductor products grouped in lots, the system comprising: a planning module operable to receive a delivery schedule; anda management module operable to monitor performance of at least one manufacturing process to produce a specific lot of a product based on a plurality of statistical process control rules, and to automatically revise a priority of the specific lot of the product if a statistical control process rule is violated, wherein the at least one manufacturing process is determinative of the delivery schedule.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the management module is further operable to monitor the performance of the at least one manufacturing process by performing statistical process control based on at least one of a lot cycle time and a stage cycle time.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the statistical process control rule is based on a lot cycle time and is configured for: comparing a required cycle time of the specific lot of the product against an upper boundary and a lower boundary; anddetermining if the required cycle time is outside of the upper boundary and the lower boundary.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the statistical process control rule is based on a stage cycle time and is configured for: comparing a required cycle time of the specific lot of the product in a manufacturing stage against an upper boundary and a lower boundary of all lots of the product in the manufacturing stage; anddetermining if the required cycle time is outside of the upper boundary and the lower boundary.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the management module is configured to: automatically upgrade the priority of the specific lot of the product if the required cycle time is too slow; andautomatically downgrade the priority of the specific lot of the product if the required cycle time is too fast.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the statistical process control rule is based on a lot cycle time and is configured for: comparing a required cycle time of the specific lot of the product against an average cycle time of all lots of the product; anddetermining if the required cycle time is below the average cycle time.

20. A computer implemented scheduling system for use in a facility for fabricating semiconductor products arranged in lots, the scheduling system comprising: a production control system;a supply chain;a production control system;a real-time dispatching system; anda manufacturing execution system;wherein the production control system is configured to collect commitment information from the production control system and supply information from the supply chain;wherein the production control system is configured to define a lot priority based on the commitment information and the supply information, and provide the lot priority to the real-time dispatching system;wherein the real-time dispatching system is configured to schedule product lots for fabrication according to the lot priority; andwherein the production control system is configured to monitor the progression of each lot of the product using a statistical process control rule, such that if the performance of a lot violates the statistical process control rule, the production control system automatically revises the lot priority and provides the revised lot priority to the real-time dispatching system.