Cost and time benchmarking in semiconductor manufacturing facilities construction

Cost and schedule are two of the most critical aspects of a construction project challenging managers for constant improvement of delivery processes. The rapid pace with which the semiconductor industry is growing, cost and time of a semiconductor manufacturing become the key factors to the success of the semiconductor manufacturer. Knowledge of the time required for construction of a fab, the speed of construction, and its impact on cost are significant factors that determine the marketability of the product in terms of the time frame associated with the product. No literature is currently available that can quantify the average cost and time required for construction of a facility based on size, throughput, capacity and complexity of the systems etc. Moreover, no study is done on the relative cost and time trade-off using design-build and design-bid-build project delivery approaches, which plays a significant role as a fab construction project is highly time driven.