Simulation-based multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling of semiconductor equipment installation and qualification

Ramping up a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility is a challenging endeavor. One of the key components of this process is to contract and schedule multiple types of resources in installing and qualifying the capital intensive and sophisticated manufacturing equipment. Due to the stochastic nature of the business environment, equipment shipment delays and activity duration increases are common. We first model the process as a deterministic multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling problem (MRCPSP) which is NP-hard in the strong sense. Then we extend the classical MRCPSP to handle special aspects of the semiconductor environment such as time-varying resource constraints and resource vacations, alternative resource modes, non-preemptive activity splitting, etc. In this research, a modified Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm combined with Monte Carlo simulation is proposed to evaluate and improve the execution of the Install/qual schedule with stochastic ready times and activity durations. A case study is provided to demonstrate the approach.