Survey Reveals Facilities Management Challenges
To investigate what kind of challenges and trends face today
-- Semiconductor International, 11/1/2000
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| Figure 1 |
Indicative of the complexity of modern semiconductor manufacturing equipment, respondents said the biggest challenge facing them is equipment maintenance, followed closely by tool installations or upgrades (Fig. 1). Contamination control and waste management were also seen as major challenges.
In terms of spending plans, the respondents overwhelmingly said they plan to either spend more or maintain the same level of spending for such things as tools, delivery systems, cleanrooms, water treatment and the structure itself (Fig. 2).
Perhaps indicative of the tight job market, personnel/human resources was listed as the biggest overall job frustration for facilities managers (we asked an open-ended question, where respondents could give any answer they chose). This was followed by time (or the lack thereof); dealing with managers/administration; costs; construction upgrades; communication; production speed; and crisis management.
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| Figure 2 |
The single biggest frustration with suppliers was overwhelmingly delivery time, a problem noted by 59% of the respondents (again, we asked an open-ended question). This was followed by cost, availability and documentation.
About 40% of the respondents said their companies were planning to move to 300 mm processing. Of those, almost half said the biggest challenge facing them was learning and implementing new technology. About a quarter of them said they didn't know (or had no answer). Some mentioned tool sets, cost and construction as 300 mm facility management challenges. •
