Okmetic

Analytical monitoring of production began at the end of 2007 by introducing the Machine Track by Pinja system.

Production development in the spirit of Lean

Okmetic is one of the ten biggest silicon wafer manufacturers in the world. In its field of specialization, silicon products suitable for sensor technology, the company is the most important manufacturer in the world. Several major silicon wafer manufacturers are in severe sales and cost problems, but Okmetic is expanding its production.

Production Director Jari Ahtola says that the expansion decision has its reasons. It is based on accurate information about the operation of the plant and about which of its machines are the most important ones. The utilization rate of existing production is well known, so it is possible to make reasonably accurate calculations of the investment; there is no need to assess the plant’s performance with a gut feeling.

Project in brief

No more gut feeling

Instead of using the gut feeling, production monitoring became based on analytical machine monitoring using the Machine Track by Pinja system.

Optimization

Machine monitoring data enabled the introduction of best practices and optimal working methods.

Increased utilization rate

With the introduction of the system, the utilization rate of several machines has increased by up to 20%.

Analytical monitoring of production began at the end of 2007 with the introduction of the Machine Track by Pinja system on one device. It immediately showed that 30 percent of the actual capacity of the silicon crystal cutting saw was still unused.

Jari Ahtola, Production Director, Okmetic

Benefits and savings

30% unused capacity revealed by the system

more than 120 machines connected to the system

20% increase in the utilization rate of several machines

The challenge: Monitoring of production to systematically develop operations

– In 2003, we began the systematic development of operations in the spirit of Lean. Analytical monitoring of production began at the end of 2007 by introducing the Machine Track by Pinja system on one device. It immediately showed that 30 percent of the actual capacity of the silicon crystal cutting saw was still unused, Ahtola says.

There was only one crystal cutting saw in the factory, and its utilization rate was a critical factor for the whole production. The entire operating staff felt that a new saw should be acquired alongside the old one. However, the monitoring showed that almost a third of the capacity was wasted due to irrational practices.

Today, more than 120 devices are connected to the system. Due to the price of the machines, increasing the utilization rate means a considerable potential for savings in the plant’s operating costs. When the investment can be postponed for a few years, the result is the release of resources for other uses.

“The most significant benefit of Machine Track comes from monitoring utilization. This gives us an accurate calculation of whether existing capacity has already been used and whether the need for investment is real.”

The solution: Significant improvement

Okmetic has streamlined its practices in many ways, not just through Machine Track. Ahtola says that the utilization rate of several devices has increased by up to 20 percent. However, the monitoring still reveals many details that need to be intensified even after everything seems to be completed. The staff has well received the monitoring of the machines, and the monitoring of the whole process helps adopt the best practices. Differences in the operating methods of different production teams are reflected in the measurements, which enables the adoption of best working practices in all groups.

The effects of product groups on the pace of production are also visible. They tell us the optimal series and sequences for manufacturing. This helps in particular to predict capacity, i.e., production can report to sales the actual production time quite accurately, and delays in use due to e.g. set-up times, are also known quite accurately in advance.