International Business Machines Corporation

Robert J Milne

Brian Trevor Denton

Robert A Orzell

Alfred Degbotse

Kenneth Jeffrey Fordyce

Richard Gerard Burda

Chi-Tai Wang

Sanjay R Hegde

Rahul Nahar

Jacqueline N Ward

Sameer T Shikalgar

John Joseph Forrest

Shivakumar P Patil

Geetaram Savlaram Dangat

Stuart H Smith

Shreesh S Tandel

Ashit M Shah

Muthuswamy Venkatachalam

Guogang Zuo

Xueqing Tang

Chih-Kuan Yen

Guru S Ashok

Mahesh Chandra Pati

Raymond P Dunki-Jacobs

Leah M P Pastel

Thomas Robert Ervolina

Andrew James Sullivan

Thomas D Furland

Kevin W Stanley

Satyadeep Vajjala

Chih-Hui Chang

Grant Lindsey MacKay

Yuchung Wong

Robert C Virun

John P O'Neil

Shuchen Li

Anand R Gokhale

Brent Scott Elmer

Robert L Reid

Samik Raychaudhuri

Mark Gregory Pleszkoch

Vivek Sharma

Elizabeth L Williamson

J Kenneth Coppola

Disclosed are embodiments of an improved production planning method that avoids or limits early builds. The method comprises running a conventional production planning program using standard inputs (e.g., date effective yields). The outputs of the program (e.g., a plan including planned inventory overstocks at given times) are evaluated to determine if the program plans an early build and if the planned early build may have been triggered by a predicted decrease in yield. If an early build is planned and if a correlation exists between the decrease in yield and the early build, then, optionally, new constraints are added into the program and the program is re-run so that the early build is either avoided or limited to that of the proper yield. Thus, the method can be used to reduce early builds due to an incorrect, nominally higher, yield without requiring the user to provide any special additional input data.

Method for avoiding or limiting early build due to yield decreases

A method, system, and program product for identifying at least one bit failure among a plurality of semiconductor chips are provided. A first aspect of the invention provides a method of identifying at least one bit failure signature among a plurality of semiconductor chips, the method comprising: counting failures of each failing bit among the plurality of semiconductor chips; determining a most commonly failing bit (MCFB) among the failing bits; establishing a bit failure signature including the MCFB; counting failures of each failing bit on semiconductor chips on which the MCFB fails; determining a next most commonly failing bit (NMCFB) among the failing bits on semiconductor chips on which the MCFB fails; determining whether the NMCFB tends to fail when the MCFB fails; and in response to a determination that the NMCFB tends to fail when the MCFB fails, adding the NMCFB to the bit failure signature.

Bit failure signature identification

Techniques are presented for rescheduling manufacturing releases. A plurality of release information elements are identified based on a first run of a first advanced planning system. The release information elements comprise dates of planned manufacturing release and quantity. The plurality of release information elements are sorted based on associated demand-likelihood factors and a plurality of sorting criteria. Swapping candidates are selected and swaps are performed based on the demand-likelihood factors and at least one swapping constraint. The plurality of release information elements are then fixed and output as results. A second run of an advanced planning system is optionally performed before output and may include stability features.

Systems and methods of adjusting the order of product manufacturing and rescheduling release dates

The invention disclosed here is a method for achieving simultaneous consideration of multiple customer demand dates within an advanced planning system. The invention provides a method of production planning that considers multiple due dates. The invention solves a production planning model based upon the second (commit) date to produce a first solution, sorts the demand records in order of importance, and then re-solves the production planning model based upon the first (request) date to produce a second solution. The re-solving process is performed on each demand item in the sorted order of importance. The invention optimizes between the first solution and the second solution. Before re-solving the production planning model, the invention changes the lower bound constraints on backorder variables. The re-solving process changes the required date for a single demand item, and this re-solving process is repeated for all demand items that have a first (request) date that is before a corresponding required date. The invention reports the optimal solution produced during the optimizing process. The system and method integrate the consideration of multiple demand dates with an advanced planning system for optimizing established planning objectives (e.g. customer service, short lead times, low inventory, and prioritized allocation of supply and capacity) to compute a feasible production plan for the division.

Method for simultaneously considering customer commit dates and customer request dates

Approximating cycle times within a material flow network is disclosed. One embodiment includes assigning an approximate cycle time for completion of a part number PN within the material flow network by using a model that rounds the approximate cycle time to a nearest aggregate time period and adjusting the assigned approximate cycle time based on a mathematical function representing an aggregate accuracy of an aggregation of cycle times throughout the material flow network.

Approximating cycle times within material flow network

A method and computer program product for scheduling product lots through operations of a manufacturing line. The method including: selecting a set of sequential operations required to manufacture the lots; partitioning the product lots into designated lots and non-designated lots; and generating a release schedule for each of the non-designated lots into one or more operations of the set of sequential operations; generating a release schedule for each of the designated lots into each operation of set of sequential operations such that for each designated lot a total amount of time measured from completion of a first operation of the set of sequential operations through start of a last operation of the set of sequential operations does not exceed a target amount of time for the designated lots.

Method of release and product flow management for a manufacturing facility

Method, system and program product for planning production for complementary demands are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes obtaining complementary demand values including at least one daily going rate (DGR) demand and a service demand; running a first planning production model in which the at least one DGR demand is included and the service demand is excluded; and running a second planning production model in which DGR related variables are fixed to values determined in the first planning production model and the service demand is included. Demands that are only considered by one of the planning production models are considered complementary demands.

Planning production for complementary demands

Disclosed is a method of authorizing access to an item that maintains a lockout count and blocks access to the item if the lockout count exceeds a predetermined value. One feature is that the invention 'variably' increments the lockout count if the presented password fails to exactly match the stored password. In this process the invention increments the lockout count different amounts depending upon how closely the presented password matches the stored password. The invention also provides a methodology that allocates a plurality of the same passwords to a plurality of users who share the same userid. The invention allows continuous operation of the item being accessed by providing that each of the passwords has a different expiration date. Also, when dealing with situations where a plurality of users who share the same userid also share the same password, the invention maps information associated with the users to the password in a data file and periodically updates the data file.

Systems and methods of securing resources through passwords

The invention comprises a method for achieving consideration of preemptive priorities within a supply chain optimization model. More specifically, the invention provides a method of allocating resources to a hierarchy of demand priorities in a linear programming production planning system. In particular, the invention aggregates the demand priorities into different priority groups and allocates the resources to the highest priority group of demand priorities using a first linear programming model. Next, the invention allocates remaining resources to the next highest priority group of demand priorities using a second linear programming model. The second linear programming model uses results from the first linear programming model. The invention continues this process by iteratively repeating the process of allocating remaining resources to the remaining groups of demand priorities, in order of priority. The system and method were employed to integrate the consideration of preemptive prioritization of customer demands with an advanced planning system for optimizing established planning objectives (e.g. customer service, short lead times, low inventory, and prioritized allocation of supply and capacity) to compute a feasible production plan for the division.

Method for considering hierarchical preemptive demand priorities in a supply chain optimization model

The invention provides a method of rescheduling timing of when items on purchase orders are scheduled to be received in a linear programming production planning system. This methodology performs a pre-processing rescheduling of the timing of purchase order receipts into the earliest time period allowable in a pre-processing step. After this pre-processing, the invention solves the core production planning system equations using the rescheduled purchase order receipts. Then, the invention performs post-processing rescheduling, which sorts the purchase order receipts according to rescheduling flexibility, and subsequently sequentially reschedules the timing of each of the purchase order receipts in the order established by the sorting process. This process of sequentially rescheduling reschedules the timing of purchase order receipts into the latest time period allowable.

Method for purchase order rescheduling in a linear program

A method, system, and program storage device for implementing the method of controlling a manufacturing system, wherein the method comprises providing a plurality of workpieces to be processed on a processing tool, the plurality of workpieces located at processing stations prior to the processing tool, determining auxiliary equipment allocation needs for the processing tool based on characteristics associated with the plurality of workpieces prior to the workpieces arriving at the processing tool, and sending auxiliary equipment to the processing tool based on the allocation needs prior to the workpieces arriving at the processing tool. According to an embodiment of the invention, the processing tool comprises a photolithographic system, the auxiliary equipment comprises a reticle, and the plurality of workpieces comprise semiconductor substrates.

Method and system for intelligent automated reticle managment

The invention disclosed comprises a method for encouraging fair sharing of limited material inventory and capacity between multiple customers when creating a production plan the invention allocates resources among competing demands in a linear programming production planning system by first classifying the demands into fair share sets, wherein all demands within each set have the same priority, calculating the cumulative demand for each resource within each set, and then allocating the resources to the demands in order of fair share set priority. If, during the allocating process, the supply of a given resource cannot satisfy a given cumulative demand of a given set, the given resource is allocated proportionally (e.g., evenly or according to usage proportions) among all demands that contribute to the given cumulative demand within the given set. This is an advanced planning system for optimizing established planning objectives (e.g., customer service, short lead times, low inventory, and prioritized allocation of supply and capacity) to compute a feasible production plan for the enterprise.

Method for fair sharing limited resources between multiple customers

A method, apparatus, and computer program product for organizing hierarchical information according to a defined objective.

Method, apparatus and computer program product for organizing hierarchical information

A production planning technique inputs demands for products. Each of the demands having multiple due dates, and the multiple due dates having different priorities. An explosion process utilizing linear programming and heuristics is performed to identify demands for components that are used to make the products (the explosion process maintains the multiple due dates and corresponding priorities for the components) and performs an implosion process utilizing linear programming and heuristics to assign resources to the components considering the multiple due dates and corresponding priorities.

Large scale supply planning

Method for simultaneously considering customer support dates and customer request dates

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Jericho, VT, United States of America

Robert J Milne