JP5813530B2 - Management method and management system for substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a management method and management system for managing component replacement of a substrate processing apparatus for manufacturing a thin-plate precision electronic substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. About.

  Products such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal displays are manufactured through various processes such as cleaning, film formation, photosensitive agent coating, exposure, development, and etching. Generally, these various processes are executed by a dedicated substrate processing apparatus specialized for processing purposes, such as a cleaning apparatus, an exposure apparatus (stepper), and a coating and developing apparatus (coater & developer).

Many parts constituting such a substrate processing apparatus include consumables. For example, a cleaning brush provided in the cleaning device and a lamp provided in a light irradiation type heat treatment device (lamp annealing device) are typical consumables. These consumables have a specified life (operation time or number of operations), and parts must be replaced before the end of the life . In addition, even if it is not a so-called consumable item, there are many parts whose lifetime is specified (for example, a motor, a cylinder, etc.), and it is necessary to replace these parts before reaching their lifetime.

  In order to manage such component replacement, for example, in Patent Document 1, the degree of wear of a component is monitored, and a warning that the life is approaching is issued when the degree of wear exceeds a predetermined value. And a technique for automatically ordering new parts is disclosed.

  In addition, it is normal practice to manage the lifetime of each component provided in the substrate processing equipment and replace the components that are approaching the end of their periodic maintenance during periodic maintenance and inspection of the substrate processing equipment. It has been broken. The performance of the substrate processing apparatus can be maintained by exchanging components whose lifetimes are approaching.

JP 2003-86479 A

  However, even if regular maintenance is performed, sudden failure may occur in the substrate processing apparatus. When a failure occurs, depending on the degree, the maintenance staff shuts down the substrate processing apparatus and performs failure handling work. At this time, if the parts scheduled for replacement in the scheduled maintenance plan to be replaced in the future are also replaced, the number of times the apparatus is shut down can be reduced, so that loss due to the stop of the apparatus can be reduced. That is, it is possible to reduce a loss due to production stop because the substrate processing apparatus is not operating.

  On the other hand, since parts replacement is performed earlier than the original scheduled replacement time, a new loss also occurs. For this reason, it is difficult to determine whether or not to replace a part that is scheduled to be replaced in a regular maintenance plan at the time of failure handling work, and it largely depends on the experience of maintenance personnel. As a result, unnecessary loss often occurred due to early replacement of parts (or failure to do so).

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a management technique for a substrate processing apparatus that can appropriately determine whether or not to perform early component replacement during a failure handling operation of the substrate processing apparatus. Objective.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention of claim 1 is a method for managing a substrate processing apparatus that manages the replacement of parts of the substrate processing apparatus. A cost increase calculation step for calculating a cost increase caused as a loss due to the part being unusable by exchanging a part scheduled to be replaced in the periodic maintenance plan in advance in the failure handling work; Calculated by a cost reduction calculation step for calculating a cost reduction amount obtained as a gain by reducing the number of times of shutdown and activation of the substrate processing apparatus when the periodic maintenance plan is not executed, and the cost increase calculation step The comparison process comparing the cost increase amount with the cost reduction amount calculated in the cost reduction calculation step and the comparison result in the comparison step are output. Characterized in that it comprises a force step.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the management method for a substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, in the cost increase calculating step, the life of the component to be replaced and the operation of the component at the time when the failure handling operation is performed. The cost increase amount is calculated based on the difference from the number of times or the operation time and the unit price of the part.

  The invention of claim 3 is the method for managing a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein in the cost increase calculation step, all parts scheduled for replacement in the periodic maintenance plan are targeted. It is characterized by calculating the cost increase.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method for managing a substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, in the cost reduction calculating step, the substrate processing apparatus is shut down and required for the periodic maintenance plan. The cost reduction amount is calculated based on the time required for startup and the added value per unit time produced by the substrate processing apparatus.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus management system for managing the replacement of parts of the substrate processing apparatus, a periodic maintenance scheduled in the future is performed when a failure occurs in the substrate processing apparatus and a failure handling operation is performed. A cost increase calculation unit for calculating a cost increase caused as a loss due to the part being unusable by exchanging a part to be replaced in the plan in advance in the failure handling work; and the periodic maintenance plan A cost reduction calculation unit that calculates a cost reduction amount obtained as a gain due to a reduction in the number of shutdowns and activations of the substrate processing apparatus when not performed, a cost increase amount calculated by the cost increase calculation unit, and A comparison unit that compares the cost reduction amount calculated by the cost reduction calculation unit, and a display unit that displays a comparison result of the comparison unit. To.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the management system for a substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the parts scheduled for replacement in the regular maintenance plan, the unit price of the parts, and the lifetime of the parts are determined. A first storage unit that holds a registered maintenance plan database; and a second storage unit that holds a component life management database in which the number of operation times or operation times of components are registered, and the cost increase calculation unit includes: The cost increase amount is calculated based on the difference between the life of the part to be replaced and the number of operation times or operation time of the part at the time of performing the failure handling work and the unit price of the part.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the substrate processing apparatus management system according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the cost increase calculation unit targets all parts to be replaced in the periodic maintenance plan. It is characterized by calculating the cost increase.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus management system according to any of the fifth to seventh aspects of the present invention, the cost reduction calculating unit shuts down the substrate processing apparatus required for the regular maintenance plan and The cost reduction amount is calculated based on the time required for startup and the added value per unit time produced by the substrate processing apparatus.

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, when a failure occurs in the substrate processing apparatus and a failure handling operation is performed, a part scheduled to be replaced in a future scheduled maintenance plan is replaced by the failure handling operation. As an increase in cost that occurs as a loss due to the part being unusable due to replacement in advance, and a gain by reducing the number of shutdowns and startups of the substrate processing equipment if a regular maintenance plan is not implemented In order to compare and output the cost reduction amount obtained, maintenance personnel who perform failure response work refer to the comparison results, and parts that are scheduled to be replaced in the future periodic maintenance plan during failure response work of the substrate processing equipment It is possible to reasonably and appropriately determine whether or not to replace the product at an early stage based on the cost.

According to the inventions according to claims 5 to 8, when a failure occurs in the substrate processing apparatus and the failure handling work is performed, the parts to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future are handled as the failure handling work. The cost increase resulting from the loss of use of the part due to the replacement in advance, and the reduced number of shutdowns and startups of the substrate processing equipment if the regular maintenance plan is not implemented Since the cost reduction amount obtained as a gain is calculated and compared, and the comparison result is displayed, the maintenance personnel performing the failure response work refer to the comparison result, and at the time of the failure response work of the substrate processing apparatus, It is possible to reasonably and appropriately determine whether or not to replace parts scheduled for replacement early in the regular maintenance plan based on the cost.

It is a figure which shows the whole schematic structure of the management system of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure of a maintenance management server and a substrate processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the management method of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the registration content of a maintenance plan database. It is a figure which shows an example of the registration content of a component life management database. It is a figure which shows an example of the comparison result displayed on the user interface part.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus management system 1 according to the present invention. The management system 1 has a configuration in which a substrate processing apparatus 3 that performs predetermined substrate processing on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and a maintenance management server 2 that performs maintenance management of the substrate processing apparatus 3 are connected via a network 4. Have. The maintenance management server 2 and the substrate processing apparatus 3 may be arranged in the same factory or may be arranged remotely. A plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 3 may be managed by one maintenance management server 2. When the maintenance management server 2 and the substrate processing apparatus 3 are arranged in the same factory, a LAN (Local Area Network) can be used as the network 4, and when remotely arranged, the network 4 is used. A wide area network such as the Internet may be used.

  The substrate processing apparatus 3 is an apparatus that performs predetermined substrate processing on a substrate, and is generally installed in a clean room such as a semiconductor manufacturing factory. As the substrate processing apparatus 3, for example, a single wafer type or batch type cleaning processing apparatus, a coater and developer for applying and developing a photoresist, a heat treatment apparatus, and the like are applied. The maintenance management server 2 has a hard wafer configuration similar to that of a general computer system, a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, and a readable and writable memory that stores various information. And a magnetic disk for storing control software and data.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing functional configurations of the maintenance management server 2 and the substrate processing apparatus 3. The maintenance management server 2 includes a cost increase calculation unit 21, a communication control unit 22, and a storage unit 24. The communication control unit 22 is connected to the network 4 via a network interface (not shown), and controls transmission / reception of various data between the maintenance management server 2 and the outside. The maintenance management server 2 can access the substrate processing apparatus 3 via the communication control unit 22. The storage unit 24 is, for example, a magnetic disk of the maintenance management server 2 and stores a maintenance plan database 29. The cost increase calculation unit 21 is a functional processing unit realized by the CPU of the maintenance management server 2 executing a predetermined processing program, and the processing content will be described later.

  The substrate processing apparatus 3 includes a controller having a hard wafer configuration similar to that of a general computer system, and the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is realized by the controller. The controller of the substrate processing apparatus 3 includes a cost reduction calculation unit 31, a communication control unit 32, a comparison unit 33, a storage unit 34, a component life management unit 35, and a user interface unit 38. The communication control unit 32 is connected to the network 4 via a network interface (not shown), and controls transmission / reception of various data between the substrate processing apparatus 3 and the outside. The storage unit 34 is a magnetic disk of the controller of the substrate processing apparatus 3 and stores a component life management database 39. The user interface unit 38 is a processing unit that performs input / output for a user of the substrate processing apparatus 3, and is configured using, for example, a touch panel. The user can input commands and parameters for the substrate processing apparatus 3 while confirming the contents displayed on the user interface unit 38.

  The cost reduction calculation unit 31, the comparison unit 33, and the component life management unit 35 are function processing units that are realized by the CPU of the controller of the substrate processing apparatus 3 executing a predetermined processing program. Similar to the cost increase calculation unit 21 described above, these processing contents will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the substrate processing apparatus management method according to the present invention. In the substrate processing apparatus 3, a steady process is repeatedly performed in which a substrate is loaded unprocessed, a predetermined substrate process is performed, and a processed substrate is unloaded. The substrate processing apparatus 3 is regularly maintained (for example, once a month) to maintain its performance and prevent problems such as failures in advance. Nevertheless, sudden failure may occur in the substrate processing apparatus 3.

  When such a sudden failure occurs, maintenance personnel perform failure handling work. In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a part scheduled for replacement is to be replaced in advance in a scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future as one of the failure handling operations. FIG. 3 shows the procedure.

  First, when a failure occurs, a product value-added information input screen is displayed on the user interface unit 38 of the substrate processing apparatus 3 to prompt the user to input value added per unit time (step S1). For example, when a substrate processing having an added value of 600,000 yen per hour is performed in the substrate processing apparatus 3 (that is, an added value of 600,000 yen is produced), the maintenance personnel can use the user interface unit 38. Enter \ 600,000 as added value per unit time.

  The cost reduction calculation unit 31 of the substrate processing apparatus 3 calculates the cost reduction amount obtained when the parts are replaced early based on the input content from the user interface unit 38 (step S2). This cost reduction is calculated considering the following factors.

The cost required for performing a failure handling operation when a failure occurs in the substrate processing apparatus 3 is the sum of the following four parameters (Cs + Ct + Cu + Cc).
-Loss of added value (Cs) due to the inability to perform substrate processing from when the substrate processing apparatus 3 is shut down until the maintenance staff starts failure handling work
-Loss of added value (Ct) due to the inability to process the substrate while maintenance personnel are working on the failure.
-Loss of added value (Cu) due to the fact that substrate processing cannot be performed after the substrate processing apparatus 3 is activated after the failure handling operation is completed until the substrate processing is ready.
-Purchase cost (Cc) of the part that caused the failure.

On the other hand, the cost required to execute a scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future is the sum of the following four parameters (Cs + Cm + Cu + Cp).
Loss of added value (Cs) due to the inability to perform substrate processing after the substrate processing apparatus 3 is shut down until maintenance personnel start regular maintenance work
-Loss of added value (Cm) due to the inability to perform substrate processing while maintenance personnel perform regular maintenance work
-Loss of added value (Cu) due to the inability to perform substrate processing from the time the substrate processing apparatus 3 is activated after the regular maintenance work is completed until the substrate processing is ready.
・ Purchase cost (Cp) for parts to be replaced during regular maintenance work.

  Among these, the loss of added value between the time when the substrate processing apparatus 3 is shut down and the time when the maintenance staff starts work, regardless of whether the work is a failure handling work or a regular maintenance work. Since it is considered that the time from the shutdown to the shift to work is constant, the common Cs is used. Similarly, the loss of added value after starting the substrate processing apparatus 3 after the work is completed until the preparation for the substrate processing is possible, regardless of whether the work is a failure handling work or a periodic maintenance work. Since it is considered that the time required from the start of the apparatus to the preparation of the substrate processing is constant, a common Cu is used.

  When both the failure handling work and the scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future are performed together, the substrate processing apparatus 3 is shut down and activated in two steps, and therefore the total cost Sa required for them is (2Cs + Ct + Cm + 2Cu + Cc + Cp). On the other hand, if the parts scheduled to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future are replaced in advance in the failure handling work and the scheduled maintenance plan is not executed, the substrate processing apparatus 3 is shut down and started up. Since only one time is required, the total cost Sb is (Cs + Ct + Cm + Cu + Cc + Cp). Even if the parts scheduled for replacement in the regular maintenance plan are replaced in advance, the purchase cost Cp of the parts and the added value loss Cm for the time required for the replacement work are necessarily required. Also included in Sb.

  After all, the parts to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future are replaced in advance in the failure handling work, and the cost reduction amount Cz obtained when the scheduled maintenance plan is not executed is Sa and Sb. Is (Cs + Cu). In short, if both the failure handling work and the regular maintenance plan are performed, the substrate processing apparatus 3 must be shut down and started twice. The loss of added value becomes the cost reduction amount Cz as it is.

  The time required for each shutdown and activation of the substrate processing apparatus 3 is a fixed value unique to the apparatus, and is stored in advance in the storage unit 34 or the memory of the substrate processing apparatus 3. The cost reduction calculation unit 31 is necessary for each of the added value per unit time produced by the substrate processing apparatus 3 input in step S1 (¥ 600,000 in this embodiment) and the shutdown and activation of the substrate processing apparatus 3. (Cs + Cu) is calculated from the time. For example, if the time required for shutting down the substrate processing apparatus 3 is 30 minutes, Cs = (30 minutes / 60 minutes) × ¥ 600,000 = ¥ 300,000 is calculated. Similarly, if the time required for starting up the substrate processing apparatus 3 is 20 minutes, it is calculated that Cu = (20 minutes / 60 minutes) × ¥ 600,000 = ¥ 200,000. Therefore, the cost reduction calculating unit 31 reduces the cost obtained when the parts scheduled to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future are replaced in advance in the failure handling work and the periodic maintenance plan is not executed. The amount Cz is calculated as (Cs + Cu) = ¥ 300,000 + ¥ 200,000 = ¥ 500,000.

  Next, the cost increase calculation unit 21 of the maintenance management server 2 acquires a scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future from the maintenance plan database 29 stored in the storage unit 24 (step S3). FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of registered contents in the maintenance plan database 29. As shown in FIG. 4, in the maintenance plan database 29, for each periodic maintenance plan, the scheduled maintenance date, the name of the part scheduled to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan, the unit price and the life of the part are registered. . The service life or the number of service operations is registered as the life, and which is registered depends on the type of component. The cost increase calculation unit 21 acquires each item as shown in FIG. 4 as a scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future.

  Subsequently, the cost increase calculation unit 21 refers to the scheduled future maintenance plan acquired in step S3, and acquires the operation information of the parts scheduled to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan (step S4). For example, in the example of FIG. 4, replacement of three types of parts A, B, and C is scheduled in a regular maintenance plan scheduled on March 18, 2012. Therefore, the cost increase calculation unit 21 acquires operation information about the parts A, B, and C.

  Specifically, the cost increase calculation unit 21 requests the actual operation status of the components A, B, and C from the component life management unit 35 of the substrate processing apparatus 3. The actual operation status is the actual number of operations or operation time of each component at the time when a request is received from the cost increase calculation unit 21 (that is, when the failure handling work of the substrate processing apparatus 3 is performed). In response to a request from the cost increase calculation unit 21, the component life management unit 35 acquires the actual operation status of the requested component from the component life management database 39 stored in the storage unit 34. This is transmitted to the cost increase calculation unit 21.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of registered contents in the component life management database 39. As shown in the figure, in the component life management database 39, the actual operation status is recorded for each component. The component life management database 39 is sequentially updated by the component life management unit 35 as the steady processing in the substrate processing apparatus 3 proceeds (that is, as each component is used). In the present embodiment, since the actual operation status of the parts A, B, and C is required, the component life management unit 35 performs the actual operation of the parts A, B, and C as shown in FIG. The situation is acquired and transmitted to the cost increase calculation unit 21.

  Based on the operation information of the replacement-scheduled part transmitted from the component life management unit 35, the cost increase calculation unit 21 calculates the amount of cost increase that occurs when the component is replaced early (step S5). The cost increase Cx that occurs when one part scheduled for replacement in the scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future is replaced in advance in the failure handling work is calculated by the following equation (1).

  In Equation 1, Kt and Ke are the life and actual operating condition of the part, respectively. Pb is the unit price of the part. The part life Kt and the unit price Pb are information obtained from the maintenance plan database 29 in step S3. The actual operation status Ke of the component is information obtained from the component life management database 39 in step S4.

  As shown in Expression (1), the cost increase Cx is calculated based on the difference between the life of the part to be replaced and the actual operation status of the part at the time of performing the failure handling work and the unit price of the part. The cost increase Cx is a loss that cannot be used by exchanging parts that should have been used until the end of their service life in the failure handling work if they are replaced in the regular maintenance plan. For example, when looking at part A, it should have been used 10,000 times if it is replaced in the future periodic maintenance plan, and if it is replaced early in the failure handling work, it will be replaced after 5000 uses. The remaining 5000 times cannot be used. The loss due to this is the cost increase Cx, and Cx = (10,000 times−5,000 times) / 10,000 times × ¥ 10,000 = ¥ 5,000.

  The cost increase calculation unit 21 calculates the cost increase Cx using Equation (1) for all the parts scheduled to be replaced in the regular maintenance plan acquired in step S3. In the example of the present embodiment, the cost increase calculation unit 21 calculates the cost increase Cx from Equation (1) for each of the three types of parts A, B, and C scheduled to be replaced in the regular maintenance plan. As described above, for part A, the cost increase Cx = ¥ 5,000 is calculated. For part B, the cost increase Cx = (1,500 hours-1,200 hours) / 1,500 hours × ¥ 200,000 = ¥ 40,000. Similarly, for the part C, the cost increase Cx = (100,000 times-90,000 times) / 100,000 times × ¥ 150,000 = ¥ 15,000 is calculated.

  The cost increase that occurs when parts scheduled for replacement in the scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future are replaced in advance in the failure response work is the sum of the cost increase Cx for all parts scheduled for replacement. ΣCx. In the present embodiment, the cost increase calculation unit 21 adds the cost increase amounts Cx for the parts A, B, and C, and calculates the total cost increase ΣCx = ¥ 5,000 + ¥ 40,000 + ¥ 15,000 = ¥ 60,000. . The total cost increase ΣCx calculated by the cost increase calculation unit 21 is transmitted to the substrate processing apparatus 3.

  Next, the cost reduction amount Cz calculated by the cost reduction calculation unit 31 in step S2 and the total cost increase ΣCx calculated by the cost increase calculation unit 21 in step S5 are compared by the comparison unit 33 of the substrate processing apparatus 3. Comparison is made (step S6). As a result, if the total cost increase ΣCx is smaller than the cost reduction amount Cz, it is possible to obtain cost merit by exchanging the parts to be replaced in the future scheduled maintenance plan in advance in the failure handling work. Therefore, early replacement is deemed appropriate. That is, satisfying ΣCx <Cz means that the cost merit by not performing a regular maintenance plan is greater than the loss due to early replacement of parts without using them to the end of their service life. It is preferable in terms of cost to replace the parts scheduled to be replaced in the maintenance plan in advance by the failure handling work.

  Conversely, if the total cost increase ΣCx is greater than the cost reduction Cz, cost benefits can be obtained even if parts scheduled for replacement in the future scheduled maintenance plan are replaced prior to the failure handling work. Therefore, it is judged that early replacement is not appropriate. In other words, the fact that ΣCx> Cz means that the loss due to early replacement of parts is greater than the cost reduction due to not performing the periodic maintenance plan, and the parts scheduled for replacement in the future periodic maintenance plan It is disadvantageous in terms of cost if it is replaced in advance in the work to deal with the failure. If the total cost increase ΣCx is equal to the cost decrease amount Cz, any determination result may be used.

  Since the periodic maintenance plan is repeatedly performed at regular intervals, there are a plurality of periodic maintenance plans scheduled in the future rather than the failure handling work. The processing from step S3 to step S6 is performed for each of a plurality of such scheduled periodic maintenance plans. And the comparison part 33 displays a comparison result on the user interface part 38 of the substrate processing apparatus 3 (step S7). FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the comparison result displayed on the user interface unit 38. In the example of FIG. 6, the cost reduction amount Cz is displayed, and the periodic maintenance date of the periodic maintenance plan that satisfies ΣCx <Cz and the total cost increase ΣCx are displayed.

  The cost reduction amount Cz is an effect obtained by reducing the cost required for shutting down and starting up the substrate processing apparatus 3 by avoiding the regular maintenance plan, so regardless of which regular maintenance day the regular maintenance plan is executed, The value is constant (in this embodiment, ¥ 500,000). On the other hand, the cost increase Cx is a loss that cannot be used by replacing parts that should have been used until the end of their service life in the failure handling work if they are replaced in the regular maintenance plan. Since the parts to be replaced and the remaining life (life expectancy) are different every time, the value varies depending on the regular maintenance plan. Of course, the later the regular maintenance date, the longer the remaining life of the part to be replaced, and the loss due to early replacement increases and the cost increase Cx tends to increase. In the present embodiment, only the periodic maintenance plan that satisfies ΣCx <Cz in the determination of step S6 is displayed on the user interface unit 38.

  Whether maintenance personnel who perform failure handling work refer to the comparison result displayed on the user interface unit 38 and replace the parts to be replaced in the future scheduled maintenance plan together with the failure handling work in advance. Final decision is made. For example, when the comparison result as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, the cost reduction effect (Cz−ΣCx) is large as ¥ 440,000 for the periodic maintenance plan whose regular maintenance date is March 18, 2012, Maintenance personnel determine that it is preferable to replace a part that is scheduled to be replaced in the maintenance plan at the time of failure handling work, and make a decision to that effect. It should be noted that it is desirable to make a final decision as to whether or not to replace parts in advance during failure handling work, taking into account factors other than cost.

  Further, if the parts are to be replaced in advance, all the parts scheduled for replacement in the periodic maintenance plan to be replaced are replaced. For example, if parts to be replaced are replaced early in the periodic maintenance plan on March 18, 2012, it is impossible to replace only parts A early and not replace parts B and C. All of B and C must be exchanged. Furthermore, if parts to be replaced are replaced early in the regular maintenance plan, not only parts replacement but also other work that should be performed in the periodic maintenance plan (for example, inspection work of the substrate processing apparatus 3) can be dealt with by failure. It is also performed at the time of work. That is, all work scheduled in the regular maintenance plan is performed in advance in the trouble handling work.

  In this embodiment, when a failure occurs in the substrate processing apparatus 3 and a failure handling operation is performed, a part scheduled to be replaced in a scheduled maintenance plan scheduled in the future is replaced in advance in the failure handling operation. The amount of cost increase and the amount of cost reduction that occur in the project are calculated and the result of comparison is displayed. The amount of cost increase is calculated as a loss that cannot be used by replacing parts that should have been used until the end of their service life in the failure handling work if they are replaced in the regular maintenance plan. Further, the cost reduction amount is calculated as a gain resulting from reducing the number of shutdowns and activations of the substrate processing apparatus 3 by performing the regular maintenance plan together with the failure handling work. If the cost reduction amount is larger than the cost increase amount, it is determined that early replacement of parts in the failure handling work is appropriate.

  In this way, the maintenance personnel performing the failure handling work refer to the comparison result between the increased cost and the reduced cost, and the parts scheduled to be replaced in the future periodic maintenance plan during the failure handling work of the substrate processing apparatus 3. It is possible to reasonably and appropriately determine whether or not to replace the product at an early stage based on the cost. In particular, even inexperienced maintenance personnel can make an accurate decision by making an early replacement decision based on the results of a comparison between the cost increase and the cost decrease, and it is possible to generate losses due to incorrect decisions. Can be prevented.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be modified in various ways other than those described above without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the cost increase calculation unit 21 is provided in the maintenance management server 2, and the cost decrease calculation unit 31 and the comparison unit 33 are provided in the controller of the substrate processing apparatus 3. Since the function processing unit is realized by executing the processing program, it may be provided in either the maintenance management server 2 or the substrate processing apparatus 3. For example, all of these function processing units may be provided in the maintenance management server 2, and the substrate processing apparatus 3 may only collect operation information from the component life management database 39 and perform arithmetic processing in the maintenance management server 2. . Further, all the function processing units are provided in the substrate processing apparatus 3, and the maintenance plan database 29 is stored in the storage unit 34 of the substrate processing apparatus 3 so that the processing of the above embodiment is executed only by the substrate processing apparatus 3. Also good.

  Further, the display example of the cost reduction amount, the cost increase amount, and the comparison result is not limited to the example of FIG. 6, and the result is displayed only for a specific periodic maintenance plan (for example, the latest periodic maintenance plan). Also good. Further, not only the periodic maintenance plan satisfying ΣCx <Cz but also all the periodic maintenance plans may be displayed together with ΣCx.

  In the above embodiment, the comparison result between the cost increase amount and the cost decrease amount is displayed on the user interface unit 38. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the comparison result is printed on a printed matter. You may make it do. Alternatively, the comparison result may be transmitted to the maintenance management server 2 by e-mail or the like. In short, any form that outputs the comparison result between the cost increase amount and the cost decrease amount may be used.

  The management technology of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes cleaning processing, film formation processing, heat treatment, etc. on precision electronic substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for flat panel (FPD) applications such as liquid crystal displays, and substrates for solar cells. It can be suitably applied to component replacement management of the substrate processing apparatus to be performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Management system 2 Maintenance management server 3 Substrate processing apparatus 4 Network 21 Cost increase calculation part 24,34 Memory | storage part 29 Maintenance plan database 31 Cost reduction calculation part 33 Comparison part 35 Component life management part 38 User interface part 39 Component life management database

Claims (8)

A method of managing a substrate processing apparatus for managing component replacement of the substrate processing apparatus,
When a failure occurs in a substrate processing apparatus and a failure handling operation is performed, the component can be used by exchanging a component scheduled to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan in the future in advance in the failure handling operation. A cost increase calculation process for calculating an increase in cost caused as a loss of the lost amount,
A cost reduction calculation step for calculating a cost reduction amount obtained as a gain by reducing the number of times of shutdown and activation of the substrate processing apparatus when the periodic maintenance plan is not performed;
A comparison step for comparing the cost increase calculated in the cost increase calculation step with the cost decrease calculated in the cost decrease calculation step;
An output step of outputting a comparison result in the comparison step;
A method for managing a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: In the management method of the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1,
In the cost increase calculation step, the cost increase amount is calculated based on the difference between the life of the part to be replaced and the number of operation times or operation time of the part at the time of performing the failure handling work and the unit price of the part. Management method for substrate processing apparatus. In the management method of the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
In the cost increase calculating step, a cost increase amount is calculated for all parts scheduled to be replaced in the regular maintenance plan. In the management method of the substrate processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3,
In the cost reduction calculating step, a cost reduction amount is calculated based on time required for shutdown and activation of the substrate processing apparatus required for the periodic maintenance plan and an added value per unit time produced by the substrate processing apparatus. Management method of substrate processing apparatus. A substrate processing apparatus management system for managing the replacement of parts of a substrate processing apparatus,
When a failure occurs in a substrate processing apparatus and a failure handling operation is performed, the component can be used by exchanging a component scheduled to be replaced in the scheduled maintenance plan in the future in advance in the failure handling operation. A cost increase calculation unit for calculating an increase in cost that occurs as a loss of the lost amount,
A cost reduction calculation unit that calculates a cost reduction amount obtained as a gain by reducing the number of times of shutdown and activation of the substrate processing apparatus when the periodic maintenance plan is not performed;
A comparison unit that compares the cost increase calculated by the cost increase calculation unit with the cost decrease calculated by the cost decrease calculation unit;
A display unit for displaying a comparison result of the comparison unit;
A management system for a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: In the management system of the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 5,
A first storage unit holding a maintenance plan database in which the parts scheduled to be replaced in the periodic maintenance plan, the unit price of the parts, and the lifetime of the parts are registered;
A second storage unit that holds a component life management database in which the number of operations or operation time of the component is registered;
Further comprising
The cost increase calculation unit calculates a cost increase based on the difference between the life of a part to be replaced and the number of operation times or operation time of the part at the time of performing the failure handling work and the unit price of the part. Management system for substrate processing equipment. In the management system of the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 5 or Claim 6,
The management system for a substrate processing apparatus, wherein the cost increase calculation unit calculates a cost increase for all parts scheduled to be replaced in the regular maintenance plan. In the management system of the substrate processing apparatus in any one of Claims 5-7,
The cost reduction calculation unit calculates a cost reduction amount based on time required for shutdown and activation of the substrate processing apparatus required for the regular maintenance plan and added value per unit time produced by the substrate processing apparatus. Management system for substrate processing equipment.

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