To improve overall cost management by increasing
equipment efficiency and cycle time, ANADIGICS has
begun implementation of a manufacturing methodology
known as Total Productive Manufacturing (TPM).
Improvements in equipment efficiency are obtained by
systematically identifying and reducing all forms of loss
on a piece of equipment. TPM identifies sixteen types of
losses, which fall under the categories of equipment,
people, material and safety. The measurement used to
characterize the losses and thus measure the
improvement is Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE).
OEE integrates all aspects of tool maintenance and
operation, including equipment downtime, operator
efficiency, and output quality.