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by Chris Chiappinelli, MA Editorial Staff   | Abstract: | Unsatisfied with a materials location system that was sapping workers' time, Freescale used an integrated RFID system to get its semiconductor plant back on track. |
| Keywords: | data and integration mastery, progressive manufacturing, high achiever |
In 2006, Freescale Semiconductor was facing a problem common to companies that must track material through an extended production cycle: the materials — in this case silicon wafers — were proving elusive. At the company's Oak Hill fabrication facility in Austin, TX, hundreds of operators were wasting lots of time looking for wafers, and productivity was suffering.
The company's answer was an innovative application of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology integration that helped make the company's fabrication process much more productive. It also helped earn Freescale Managing Automation's 2008 Progressive Manufacturing High Achiever Award for Data and Integration Mastery.
Semiconductor fabrication is an intricate series of work processes performed in a clean room environment. Transporting the silicon wafers that eventually become semiconductors through hundreds of steps demands not just great care, but also a good deal of efficiency in order to keep cycle times low.
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