The relationships between tool performance, cycle time, and throughput have
been described to achieve the highest productivity. Though tool utilizatio
n is low for manually operated tools, long waits prior to product processin
g lead to a productivity loss in our production line. We focus on operator
efficiency in the CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) operation, which, as
a typical manually operated tool, influences cycle time. This paper introdu
ces an online/offline unit hour analysis method, which has been designed to
optimize operator allocation and headcount in our production line, using X
-factor theory in order to achieve the shortest cycle time. By using online
/offline unit hour analysis with X-factor theory, the root cause of waiting
time can be identified and the relationship between operator headcount and
cycle time can be described. The waiting time can be reduced by 35% and th
e cycle time can be reduced by 25%, according to a simulator with optimized
operator allocation and headcount based on online/offline unit hour analys
is.