Integration Complexity
The daunting nature of data integration for large companies with multiple foundries, business units and data formats is something we savor. We work with the client to be clear on the potential sources of variation in data standards, whether because of human data entry error or operational variances such as how the wafer-id or lot-id is stored. We have dealt with issues such as data scaling inconsistencies on some testers, files with no test limits and files which don’t close properly. The varied nature of STDF files is something we always come across, but we find that effort at the outset in providing us with enough data samples saves customization expense later on. We are industry experts who listen attentively so you’ll find that meetings are efficient and progress made quickly.
Re-processing Data
Sometimes re-processing of large volumes of data is necessary and any Enterprise Yield Management solution needs to handle this well. A practical example for a large company is where a customer wishes to add a customization such as a particular filter to the data; or where they need a different interpretation of attributes from the data (e.g. hardware). We have the distinct advantage of extremely fast reprocessing of the data without interfering with the links already generated and shared with users before the upgrade. So if you have shared a genealogy correlation with a colleague (which will be an active report which your colleague can drill into), and an upgrade or reprocessing has occurred, the report will still work fine during and after the upgrade.
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
In terms of MES data sources (for example SAP, Camstar, Promis), we work typically for several weeks with the client to set up this data feed. Integration with MES has big advantages in addition to high level Yield management. It also helps ameliorate data integrity issues which can be inherent in STDF and equivalent data. It can even help resolve the issues by highlighting patterns of inconsistency which might be more pronounced in certain subcons or tester types.
Standards in Subcons
Where possible we minimize the need for too many standards to be enforced in foundry subcontractors. Where it is needed, we help our customer justify it to their suppliers.
Integration Costs
Typically, integration costs are much less than expected. We accomplish this by helping our customers specify what needs to be done with precision from the start, forging a good working relationship with your IT department so we can collaborate well remotely and leveraging the savings from having our support engineering base in a low cost location in Asia.
Please contact info{at}mfgvision{dot}com for more details.