Quality Benchmarking Consortium (QBC)

QUALITY BENCHMARKING CONSORTIUM (QBC) OVERVIEW

Quality is a fundamental requirement for all semiconductor products and technologies. Over the past decade, state-of-the-art quality practices have evolved significantly to keep pace with rapid innovation and technological advancements. New challenges include qualifying increasingly complex systems, advanced packaging & 2.5/3D integrated systems, and AI/ML which is playing a crucial role in manufacturing through visual inspection, variability control, and reducing excursions. Company-to-company benchmarking can enhance practices, saving time and money by establishing best-known methods (BKMs). Common systems across manufacturers streamline customer engagements, leading to increased business opportunities and improved customer satisfaction as quality methods advance industry-wide.

VISION

Between 2007-2013, Sematech facilitated a Quality Benchmarking Initiative, where Quality experts from 10 major semiconductor companies regularly met to benchmark quality systems. Through surveys and shared knowledge, they produced valuable summaries of quality processes, KPIs, and best-known methods, enhancing members' quality systems. With technological advances over the past decade, there is high interest in restarting this initiative and SEMI has formed a Quality Benchmarking Consortium for major semiconductor companies to collaborate on quality best practice benchmarking and continual improvement in a confidential environment that fosters open information exchange between participants.

OPERATION & GUIDELINES

The consortium operates on a "Give-to-Get" philosophy, requiring members to actively participate in discussions and activities, sharing information, input, and feedback. Members who only collect information without contributing will not be tolerated. Permitted topics include working processes, management systems, approaches, and KPIs, driven by global customer trends or internal development. Off-limit topics include IP and patent-protected quality technical solutions embedded in technologies, packages, design, testing, and software. The consortium plans to meet in-person three times a year, with interim online meetings for sub-teams and Consortium Chairs as needed. The SEMI Program Manager will handle meeting arrangements, information exchanges, surveys, calendar invitations, and other logistics.

MEMBERSHIP

Member companies must be SEMI members in good standing, including OEMs, device manufacturers, fabless device makers, and foundries. They should be multinational corporations shipping over 100 million units per year and have a high-caliber quality organization as described in the Quality Consortium Charter. Participants should be high-level staff, such as Vice Presidents or Directors.

Membership dues will cover a SEMI Program Manager to organize the consortium, a secure information-sharing platform, and three in-person meetings per year, including a group dinner.