Product category:
Manufacturing Information Technology systems
News Release from: Brooks Automation | Subject: Statistical process control
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 18 October 2004
Upgrade to SPC with rational
sub-grouping
Brooks Software has launched Space 4.1, an upgrade to its widely deployed statistical process control (SPC) application.
Built on Brooks' Sense Decide Respond real-time enterprise architecture, Space 4.1 helps manufacturers implement corporate SPC standards, ensuring immediate response to changes or fluctuations in the manufacturing process for greater product consistency and quality New and enhanced features include rational sub-grouping, a Java API and an advanced calculation option (ACO) module, as well as broader chart management and offline analytical capabilities
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 3 Sep 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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With the new upgrade, Brooks claims to be the only vendor to offer rational sub-grouping, a feature endorsed by Sematech, standard in its SPC solution.
With rational sub-grouping - also known as multivariate analysis - manufacturers can group by wafer, site or lot to determine the components of variation within a process.
These components can then be extracted for SPC analysis.
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Brooks' Space statistical process control solution is widely installed in semiconductor manufacturing facilities throughout the world.
The product's proven ability to drive operational efficiency makes it a critical resource for discrete manufacturers enhancing lean manufacturing, Six Sigma and supply chain execution initiatives.
Space 4.1 allows manufacturers to monitor processes in real-time and take corrective measures before problems occur, helping to improve quality and to reduce the number of scraps and rework.
Space integrates with any manufacturing execution system (MES), including Brooks' newly-released Factoryworks3, the first third-generation MES product optimised for the real-time enterprise.
Space also integrates with Brooks' out of control action plan (OCAPS) application, which allows corrective action to be configured in a pre-defined workflow.
"Space 4.1 has proven to be the pre-eminent statistical process control solution among our manufacturing customer base, clearly distinguishing itself from other offerings through both its performance and its rich feature set," said Jay Doraiswami, president of Mentis Solutions, a Brooks Software integrator.
"Our customers like Space's intuitive user interface and the three-tier architecture that allows effective integration with other systems.
Customers are using Space 4.1 to achieve better product quality by putting in place monitors, alerts and controls, and better schedule adherence by reducing process variability and improving yield.
They're also realizing improved cost savings by preventing additional processing of defective products, and better equipment utilization by allowing plant managers to use the most appropriate equipment." According to Joe Bellini, senior vice president of Brook Software, a division of Brooks Automation, "As part of our Sense Decide Respond portfolio of real-time enterprise applications, Space 4.1 plays a valuable role in helping our customers monitor changes within manufacturing processes as they occur.
Operators can then use Space to drill down on particular chart values to gain a better understanding of where problems lie, so that they can address issues before they impact productivity.
Space's real-time advantage is key to enacting pre-emptive measures that ensure high yields of quality product and smooth, efficient operations." The new version of Space offers improved offline analytical capabilities, evolving Space from a purely online statistical tool to an offline analytical resource as well.
In Space 4.1, Brooks offers a Java API that provides centralised control chart and limits management.
The new interface grants manufacturers external management of Space, giving larger manufacturers the option of using their existing MES with Brooks' SPC solution.
Brooks' new Advanced Calculation Option (ACO) module extends the calculated parameters of Space and enables manufacturers to improve SPC sensitivity.
Space supports thousands of charts, provides global view and historical chart information via audit trails, and offers exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) charts, which greatly reduce false alarms.
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