Applications of cost of ownership to environment, safety and health

Activities driven by ESH concerns can significantly impact electronics manufacturing costs. The inability to account for ESH costs and link them to designs and processes forces many in the industry to make critical business and operational decisions with an incomplete understanding of their ESH economic impact. ESH cost modeling is a tool for use by ESH and engineering during concurrent design activities to evaluate the ESH impacts of product or process design options. A joint research and development project involving, Oregon State University, Wright Williams and Kelly, and SEMATECH is extending cost of ownership (COO) for analysis of ESH cost drivers. COO is a tool for evaluating the ESH impacts of process equipment. The ESH COO model provides a framework for accounting activities that drive ESH costs at the manufacturing process level. Activity-based cost analysis and life-cycle analysis are important parts of this ESH cost modeling framework. Decision analysis, based on analyzing ESH data and costs using standard software algorithms and equations, allows the electronics industry to remain competitive while cost-effectively meeting ESH requirements. Improved ESH accounting and decision support tools like COO allow the ESH operating staff and management to better manage ESH, costs and impacts. These tools provide improved long-term financial and ESH performance.