Prioritizing 5S activities by kano model for a semiconductor wafer fabrication

Semiconductor wafer fabrication (FAB) is recognized as one of the most complex manufacturing systems. Due to its capital-intensive machines and facilities, a newly built FAB is expected to operate as early as possible. However, a FAB has to pass various audits from its customers before officially operate. 5S audit is one of them. 5S practice is a famous yet fundamental managerial tool for FAB operation. When building a state-of-the-art 300 mn/130 um FAB, it is common to find hundreds of action items to complete to comply with customers' expectations toward 5S practice. Moreover, 5S audit on a modern FAB is no longer solely based on checklist. Meeting customers (auditors) expectations become a key factor to pass a 5S audit. Therefore, FAB managers are facing challenges to allocate their resource under time and budget constraints to meet customers' expectations toward 5S, especially at the ramp-up stage of a new FAB. This study proposes an application of Kano model and CS-coefficient to effectively prioritize action items of 5S practice for a FAB to assist managers allocating the limited resources to the places that are valued most by their customers. A real case drawn from a 300mm semiconductor wafer FAB in Taiwan is analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.