PROCESS
The AM Process we are implementing consists of four steps.
Step zero, one, two and three. The process can be
summarized with the following Mantra:
Step zero Preparation
Step one Clean to Inspect, Inspect to
Detect
Step two Detect to Correct
Step three Correct to perfect
Step Zero. This is where the teams learn how the tool
operates, learn the safety aspects of tool, create a risk
assessment for working on the tool, become certified on the
safety aspects and operation of the tool and decide which loss
related metrics they will track. Safety is a major focus for this
step and the reason for this is simple. The process we are
learning is an Autonomous Maintenance process. By the end
of the process, operators will be capable of maintaining the
tool at a level that maintains a basic level of condition. This
means they will be working in areas of the tool that are not
only new to them but may expose them to certain safety
hazards. Understanding and minimizing those hazards in the
form of a risk assessment is essential. As the team completes
their risk assessment, the relevant equipment engineer must
sanction the assessment. An audit at the end of step zero is
designed to prevent progress to the next step unless everyone
on the team is safety certified and the risk assessment has
been approved. The team will also demonstrate how to safely
power up and power down the tool.
Step One. At this stage the team will divide the tool into
different sub-assemblies and begin cleaning. The key part of
this is not to clean for the sake of cleaning, but clean to
INSPECT. As the team begins to clean they will identify
defects. These defects need to be documented with details of
what has been found and the exact location. Colored dots will
be added to a large poster of the tool to help understand
groupings of defects. The defects are also divided into two
very different categories, Yellow and Red. A Yellow defect is
a defect that can be corrected by the team members, while a
Red defect is a defect that can only be corrected by someone
outside the team. This cleaning process can take some weeks
and may result in anything from two to five hundred defects
being identified. Before moving on to Step Two, the team
will have to pass the Step One audit. The Office of TPM
conducts the Step One audit and the audit itself describes in
great detail what is required to pass the audit. For Step One
the audit will not only look at the defects found and corrected
but also the condition of the tool. The tool should begin to
look better than it did when the process began. When a team
passes their Step One audit, a celebration lunch or dinner at a
local Japanese restaurant recognizes their achievement.
Step Two. During this step the clean to inspect will
continue, but in a more formalized way. A Cleaning and
Inspection map should be put in place that details what parts
of the tool are cleaned or inspected at defined frequency. At
this time, some defects will have determined to be recurring.
During Step Two, these recurring defects need to be analyzed
in order to determine the root cause. “Why-Why” Analysis
and Fishbone diagram tools are used to determine root cause.
Once root cause is established, a countermeasure needs to be
implemented to prevent the recurrence. The effectiveness of
the countermeasure is determined by the recurrence of the
defect. The countermeasures are then added to the routine
Cleaning and Inspection process. Progress to Step Three can
only be achieved when the Step Two audit has successfully
been completed. As with the Step One audit, the office of
TPM conducts the Step Two audit. With this audit, the
emphasis switches to how effectively the team has prevented
the appearance of recurring defects. By this time, the tool
should look pristine or back to original condition. This
usually includes repainting the tool. Depending on the
condition of the tool to begin with, the performance may also
have increased through less downtime. On another level the
team has begun to set a zero tolerance level for defects.
Driven by the hard work expended on the tool, that zero
tolerance level is passed on to non-team members who also
operate the tool. This peer pressure is extremely powerful to
maintain the tool in current, pristine condition.
Step Three. Although this step is the shortest to complete,
it is in many ways the most crucial. During this step, the team
makes some final adjustments again to the Clean to
Inspection Map. They then have to take the Cleaning and
Inspection process in place at this point and roll it out to
everyone who works on the tool. A simple awareness and
training session is insufficient. The reason for this is that it is
crucial that whatever is put in place so far becomes embedded
as the team disbands at the end of Step 3. This is the toughest
part of all, and ANADIGICS implementation of Step Three
has evolved considerably through both the pilot and
subsequent teams. The evolution of this step is sti