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First Steps Towards a Production Line
Hayashi: We had many problems during the
few months prior to starting the line, especially
at the stage of determining the recipes,
one by one, for each of the manufacturing
units.
Tsuyuki: This is because if the manufacturing
units were people, it’s as though you had
to tell them whether to start with the right foot
or the left foot each time when you have them
walk somewhere.
Hayashi: There are a phenomenally large
number of parameters and even slight
changes in the state of the materials being
used can have unexpected results.
Okuno: In addition to there being large numbers
of parameters in each individual unit, the
process itself is a flow. Even if the variations
are within the allowable ranges in a particular
unit, those variations can cause problems in
the next process.
Tsuyuki: This isn’t like a combination throw
in Judo; both parts must be just right or it
doesn’t work.
Hayashi: Ultimately, if you don’t run product
through the line experimentally, you won’t
know if it works or not. It’s only when you actually
run the line that you can determine if
there is a problem if one particular state and
another particular state are combined. What
is important is how fast you can apply this
feedback.
Okuno: In a certain sense, product designand manufacturing are a competition over
margins. If you strive for designs that meet
customer’s needs or perk their interest, then
the margins available during manufacturing
are reduced.
Hayashi: The place where that trend is particularly
strong is the process in which a polycrystalline
silicon material is created by heating
amorphous silicon with a laser. Exactly
because this is an area that is directly related
to LCD performance, this is an area where the
requirements from the design department are
the most strict. But this is something that is
necessary.
Okuno: This is something that must be done.
As someone who works in manufacturing, we
understand this completely.
Tsuyuki: It certainly was a long and difficult
process to set the margins and then teach
each unit everything it needed to do. But in
return, once you teach the units, unlike human
workers, they don’t falter or waver. They
are exceedingly reliable and trustworthy.
Powerful Manufacturing
Okuno: I’m always telling the members of our
manufacturing group that I want us to achieve
“powerful manufacturing.” If manufacturing is
weak, then the technology group will always
feel satisfied with the status quo. If the manufacturing
is powerful, then the technology
group will attempt to become even stronger. I
believe that the manufacturing line will continue
to develop and improve if we both work
together towards that goal.
Tsuyuki: The operators working for General
Manager Okuno are almost engineers. They
are always on the lookout for better ways to
keep up and improve the equipment, and they
are extremely skilled. This sort of staff cannot
be trained in a single day.
Okuno: What is the true nature of an
operator’s work? What is the true nature of
maintenance work? I think that these two jobs
became indistinguishable in the latter half of
the 1990s.
Tsuyuki: This is, don’t you agree, a matter
that as automation advances, the job position
of “ordinary operator” is about to disappear?
Okuno: Because we think that everyone
should be a qualified maintenance engineer,
we are aiming at having everyone who works
on the line acquire certification as a professional
engineer. Then they can analyze failures
and propose solutions as professional
engineers when a unit fails. Also, they could
learn about the process and analyze defective
products. We really want them to be true
“manufacturing men” who have at least one
of these skills.
Hayashi: I think it’s important to keep emphasizing
this direction. This is because if we
don’t make the direction clear, our employees
may not be able to understand the meaning
of what they are doing.
Okuno: If the employee has equipment maintenance
and process capabilities, then if a
problem occurs, the employee will be able to
handle the situation at least to a certain extent
without waiting for an expert. If the employee
has this level of knowledge, then he
will be able to decide in about 70 percent of
the cases whether to stop the line or whether
to continue line operation. What we mean by
“powerful manufacturing” is that each employee
is “self contained”, that is, is a responsible
autonomous actor. If you’d allow me to
add one more point, it is important that the
manufacturing line be robust to the point that
it can withstand some amount of “pushing.”
Which is to say, everyone must work together
as a group during busy periods.
Hayashi: Even if it is a leading edge production
line that is managed by a CIM system,
I think that hardworking efforts are necessary.
Tsuyuki: Yes. This is because if we don’t
keep in close communication with the employees
on the line on a daily basis, it will be harder
to ask them to put in extra effort (in busy periods).
Okuno: When I listen to what team leaders
have to say, I make a point of going to the
floor for those discussions. I think that it is
important to have a shared view of the actual state of the floor while communicating with
these team leaders.
Tsuyuki: It all comes down to people. And
communication. We also hold a variety of
events as corporate functions.
Okuno: The event we all participated in last
year was a Chinese canoe regatta on Lake
Biwa.
Tsuyuki: Although we said we entered with
no chance or intention of winning, our team
actually did quite well, so we in the management
didn’t have to actually row ourselves.
Okuno: While I basically went to eat the
barbeque, Mr. Hayashi, who was sitting next
to me, spent the day drinking.
Potential that Gives Rise to Evolution
Tsuyuki: As our next step, when the process
becomes even more complex and the number
of parts increases, we must apply the
Toyota “just in time” approach even more thoroughly
to reduce the lead time.
Hayashi: Our sights is how efficiently can we
manufacture a large number of products at the
same time.
Tsuyuki: There is no royal road to a good
production system. For example, manufacturing
conditions will change.
Okuno: Although we have confidence in our
accumulated knowledge from the standpoint
of Monozukuri (the Japanese philosophy of
skillfully producing quality goods), we must
at the same time also be humble and modest.
For example, system displays that integrate
peripheral circuits is an area that we
have no experience in using amorphous materials.
Just as with our fusing of the previous
company and Sony’s technology to form this
new venture, moving forward, it may be necessary
to introduce some other methods and
techniques as well.
Tsuyuki: However, when that happens, it
will not simply be a matter that such and such
a method is good, but rather we must flexibly
integrate the new method. Since we have become
constitutionally stronger, both in personnel
and in our facilities, I think that we have a
very high potential for future evolution. |
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Process Technology
Based on the construction of a manufacturing line
for high resolution/wide viewing angle displays and
production technology capabilities nurtured through
experience with mass production, Sony has fused
together into a unitary whole the leading edge low-temperature
polycrystalline silicon TFT LCD process
technologies developed by the Sony Corporation
Mobile Display Business Group. Sony is
building a production line that can provide, in a
timely manner, the high-performance, high-quality,
and low-cost LCDs our customers demand. |
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Fully Automatic Production Line
In addition to reducing dust and the number of personnel required, we are moving forward with thoroughgoing automation of the production line. We are rebuilding the automated transport system and aiming for both maximum utilization of the production facilities and reduced production lead times. |
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Real-Time Reporting System
At STMD, all data relating to production is managed by a computer system called a process management system.
Quick and accurate assessment of conditions and actions that take advantage of online data are critically important
for improving both productivity and quality. Towards that goal, we are implementing and operating a web-based real-time
reporting system that aims at sharing across the whole company in a timely manner over 30,000 items of reports
and information that are always updated to reflect the latest conditions. |
 STRONG CONFIDENCE IN OUR CORPORATE CULTURE AS A MANUFACTURING SITE |
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Vol.45
