A Materials Researcher on the Manufacturing Floor
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A Materials Researcher on the Manufacturing Floor Amy Moll To enjoy working in manufacturing, one needs to be comfortable with chaos. In fact, it is best if one can thrive on chaos and constant motion. Two years after joining Hewlett Packard as a research and development engineer, I transferred to manufacturing into a production manager role. I went from responsibility for a small piece of a larger project to managing close to 100 people in a 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week operation manufacturing light-emitting diodes (LEDs). I was responsible for the operators in three distinct areas—bulk crystal growth, epitaxial growth, and wafer fabrication. After production management for two years, I became a process engineering manager at the Colorado Springs Technology Center of Agilent Technologies (formerly Hewlett Packard). The Tech Center designs and manufactures multichip modules and hybrid assemblies for Agilent Technologies instruments. Managing engineering or production in a manufacturing environment is a hectic job. First thing in the morning, I check the passdowns from the night before to see if any problems were encountered overnight with any of the processes, products, or equipment. Then it is off to the daily operations meeting to assess the current situation on the production line. Are parts moving through the line quickly and efficiently? Is any of the equipment down? Did one of our vendors miss a key shipment, therefore halting the line? Did our customer just double the shipment requirements? Are the yields unexpectedly low? On a good day, production will run fairly smoothly and only minor adjustments to priorities or schedules will need to be made. On a bad day, I could spend a couple more hours resolving the problem or working with a team of people to begin to address the issue. One of the reasons I find manufacturing challenging and rewarding is because of the wide range of work responsibilities. It is impossible to get bored. I often think of the job as split into three components— people, business, and technical. The technical side is often the easiest to define. Process yields and throughput are metrics to measure performance. Technical projects usually are due to unacceptable yields, insufficient throughput, or the requirements of a new product. On the business side of the job, I must understand our customer needs such that I can set priorities for the technical teams. Finally, people management is important. Motivating, leading, and enabling the people who MRS BULLETIN/APRIL 2000
Daily operations meeting at Colorado Springs Technology Center of Agilent Technologies.
work for me is simultaneously the most frustrating and rewarding part of my job. My primary goal is to create an environment where people know their priorities, have the resources to do their work, and enjoy their jobs. Communication is critical to efficient manufacturing operations. The operators, technicians, supervisors, engineers, and managers need to share common goals and priorities. Miscommunication or lack of communication quickly
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