Integration of WIP management policies with automated material handling systems

As the demand for semiconductor products are ever increasing, more and more semiconductor companies are leveraging their automation systems to improve productivity, yield and quality. To be competitive, manufacturers must maximize the return on resources (e.g. people and equipment). Intel has invested in integrated automated material handling systems (AMHS) as a key strategy for addressing these objectives. As the user or processing station must interface with the AMHS to obtain WIP, the interface or layer between the user and the AMHS becomes the logical place to guide or automate lot selection. This paper describes such intervening functionality and its ability to model dispatch policies that reflect factory WIP Management Policies