Manufacturing readiness model for fab startup

The model roughly covers the last eleven months of a fab startup. It starts off with the formation of the Manufacturing Readiness Management Team which identifies all the different manufacturing systems required to operate a factory. The team monitors the progress of system installation and implementation. Four months before the first full loop production starts, a “Walk The Peripheral System” process is utilized to check all the peripheral systems that cannot be checked by “Walk The Lot”. Examples are part clean, reticles and test wafer system. About three months before the startup, a bay by bay “Preflight” checklist process is implemented for the entire fab. Finally, one month before the startup, a physical “Walk The Lot” is implemented to simulate and test the integration of all the manufacturing systems, including automatic materials handling system. The fact that all the manufacturing systems are working in synchronization is the final proof that the fab is ready to go