Performance evaluation of introducing QS-9000 to the Taiwanese semiconductor industry

Abstract

According to the survey conducted by AIAG in 1999, significant effects of QS-9000 certification included average cost savings of over 6%, a 38% improvement in defect rate and a 23% increase in market share on OEM. However, few manufacturers in semiconductor related industries in Taiwan have been QS-9000 certified to date. The major reason is there is not a complete and efficient set of implementation procedures for introducing QS-9000 and the certifying process. Consequently, methods of performance evaluation based on multiple goals and principles must be applied to assess the performance of the process of introducing QS-9000 to the Taiwanese semiconductor industry. First, the performance index and the performance matrix presented by Hung, Huang, and Chen are applied to assess the certifying importance and ease of implementation of each directive item (goal). Next, related correlation and weighted values among directives (objectives to be improved) of low importance and high easiness, and also of high importance and low easiness, are established using fuzzy measures. Finally, the directives to be improved (goals to be improved) are transformed to an overall performance value during the implementation process (strategy) by fuzzy integrals to define the critical implementation process (strategy) when QS-9000 is introduced to the semiconductor industry, and also to increase the timeliness of system introduction and certification. Management is expected to find the objectives and strategies to be improved related to the introduction of the QS-9000 system, and to certify this process through the complete assessment model presented here. Subsequently, the performance of introducing QS-9000 and certification may be increased after taking into consideration cost and time factors .