J.S. Held Releases Insights on Risks & Opportunities Expected to Impact Organizations in 2025
Read MoreA state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facility (FAB) in Europe suffered a pipe break directly over photolithography, which resulted in the contamination of a variety of multi-million-dollar semiconductor processing systems (commonly referred to as “tools”) including six step and repeat photolithography systems (“steppers”), coater and developers, and metrology systems. Photolithography is the most critical step in the fabrication of microchips as this process defines the features and circuitry of the microchip. Photolithography is commonly referred to as the “heart and soul of wafer fabrication.” The estimated replacement cost of the subject equipment was initially estimated at $33.1 million, and the impact to the production operations (business interruption claim) was initially estimated at $43.6 million. The semiconductor company was anxious to restore operations as soon as possible to support customer demands and sought solutions to assess the equipment and restore operations.
J.S. Held’s Equipment Consulting Practice was retained by the semiconductor company’s insurance company to assess the equipment, determine the necessary corrective action (i.e., replace, clean and repair, no action needed), and develop solutions to restore production capabilities as safely and quickly as possible.
J.S. Held worked with the semiconductor company’s technical representatives and the manufacturers to jointly assess the equipment to determine the extent of contamination/damage and develop a repair methodology or identify the systems which required replacement. Our assessment indicated that four of the six steppers could not be economically repaired, but two steppers and the other impacted equipment could be economically repaired. In the end, the final costs related to the semiconductor equipment was $20.9 million (compared to an original estimate of $33.1 million).
J.S. Held also worked with the company’s technical representatives to develop solutions to restore production output to pre-loss levels, which included expedited/temporary repairs to equipment until replacement parts were available, transferring processes to other equipment, changing recipes, increasing lamp intensities, outsourcing some processes, and a variety of other measures. In all, twelve measures were implemented to mitigate the production impact. The results of these measures were so highly successful in restoring production capabilities that the business interruption claim, originally estimated at $43.6 million, was eliminated.
Scott Armstrong
Executive Vice President | Practice Lead
Equipment Consulting Practice
+1 949 390 7483
[email protected]
> Equipment Consulting - Semiconductor Equipment
J.S. Held’s equipment experts specialize in matters involving semiconductor manufacturing equipment as well as wafer production impact and recovery. Our team has been called upon across the globe to deliver objective and independent analyses based on years of industry experience, technical expertise, and market knowledge.
> Equipment Consulting
J.S. Held’s equipment experts deliver support on matters ranging from daily desktop reviews to multi-million-dollar, complex technology claims. Our team leverages years of experience handling a variety of specialized equipment and systems.