Improvement of Manufacturing Yield Through Gemba Approach: A Case Study in an Integrated Circuit Package Assembler Company

Technology is improving every day, and digitalization is one of the key items that can be used to innovate products with advanced technology. This has also increased the demand for IC packages. OSAT companies struggle to achieve high manufacturing yields as this is one of their KPIs to get more business and improve their reputation. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought consequences to the market and caused a shortage of IC packages. Therefore, OSAT companies need to work on improving their manufacturing yield. In this qualitative research, an OSAT company was selected as the research target to find out the main contributors causing manufacturing yield loss and the contribution of Gemba approach in improving manufacturing yield. A series of interviews was carried out and all the data was analysed using NVivo 12 plus analysis software. Four themes have been identified as the main contributors to manufacturing yield loss: Environment, Man, Machine and Method. On the other hand, three themes have been identified on the contribution of Gemba approach in improving manufacturing yield. Using NVivo 12 plus analysis software, both the main contributors of manufacturing yield loss and the contribution of Gemba approach in improving manufacturing yield were able to link together, as shown by framework metrics.