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Major Revision Being Proposed to SEMI S8

By Kevin Nguyen, SEMI

Initially published in 1995, SEMI S8-0218, Safety Guideline for Ergonomics Engineering of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, has been the standard for improving the ergonomic conditions for workers in the semiconductor industry by reducing the risk factors that lead to discomfort. It has assisted equipment suppliers and users in collaborating, designing and improving equipment to minimize fatigue and injury among personnel. Over the years, SEMI S8 has undergone numerous revisions to align with industry best practices. The most recent revision was published in 2018, and now it is time for a major overhaul.

During the SEMICON West 2023 meeting, the Ergonomics Task Force (TF) authorized to begin drafting SEMI Draft Document 7134: Revision to SEMI S8-0218, Safety Guideline for Ergonomics Engineering of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment.

The following revisions are being proposed:

  1. Limits the scope of SEMI S8 to “5-year” components.
  2. Provides material handling assessment guidance.
    • Adds instructions for performing assessments and evaluating risk.
    • Adds instructions on how to use the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) lifting equation.
    • Adds psychophysical data and instructions for use.
    • Removes wafer cassette rotation device sections 5.1-5.2 because this information would be covered by the new material handling criteria.
  3. Updates controls section to allow for various postures. (Refer to Figure 1).
  4. Changes “operation” “maintenance”, and “service” task-based descriptors to frequency-based descriptors of “frequent”, “infrequent”, and “very infrequent” throughout the document.
  5. Changes cleanroom glove strength discounting factors from 15% to 10% in all instances.
  6. Changes assessment documentation criteria to be consistent with SEMI S2 and place documentation expectations within the Supplier Ergonomics Success Criteria (SESC) Checklist.
  7. Updates data in Related Information 1: Anthropometric Resource Data.
  8. Changes to various parts of the SESC Checklist, including:
    • Edits to improve clarity.
    • Add “walking surface criteria”.
    • Add information on “ergonomic access considerations”.
    • Adds dimensional criteria for lying down on one’s side.
    • Provides details on alignment and holing aids.
  9. Deletes Related Information 4: Hazards, Alerts and Alarms since this information belongs in SEMI S2.
  10. Adds manual hand crank criteria.
sw sept 2023 s8 image

Figure 1: Partial Postures

Led by Paul Schwab (Texas Instruments), the TF has been meeting weekly, Friday from 9 AM-10 AM Pacific via teleconference with participation of third party evaluators, major equipment suppliers and end users. Contributing companies include Applied Materials, ASML, Axcelis, Intel, Lam Research, Nikon, Safety Guru, Tokyo Electron, Texas Instruments, and more. The TF’s goal is to issue the ballot for review in November 2023 and publish in 2024.

Get Involved

SEMI Standards development activities take place throughout the year in all major manufacturing regions. To get involved, join the SEMI International Standards Program at: www.semi.org/standardsmembership.

For more information, please visit our main Web site and current events page. If you have any questions regarding SEMI Standards activities, please contact your local SEMI Standards staff.

 

Standards Watch
SEMI
www.semi.org
September 14, 2023