The semiconductor industry is facing unprecedented challenges driven by demand shocks and the reshuffling of global supply chains. Amidst these complexities, Skyworks Solutions, a leading producer of gallium arsenide (GaAs) chips, turned to Plato Systems to enhance its operations digital twin with spatial data using Plato’s Spatial Intelligence platform. Skyworks' leadership believed there was a faster and more efficient way to understand operational efficiency challenges and improve equipment utilization in fab operations—uncovering not just what the problems are, but also fixing operational gaps faster.
This presentation provides an overview of Plato’s AI-driven Spatial Intelligence platform for semiconductor fabs, and describes how this tool can be used to improve equipment utilization in fab operations.
Skyworks’ chip plant already had state-of-the-art digital operations data from various systems and tools. However, extracting full value from this data was still difficult as the company lacked spatial activity context, which is critical for root-causing variations in downtimes, setup times, and machine utilization rates. This is where Plato’s Spatial Intelligence Platform came into play.
Plato’s unique spatial activity data includes digital records of operator-machine interactions. This data stream enables Skyworks to extract patterns of activity and analyze the root cause of variations and under-utilization of equipment. Capacity is partially driven by the efficiency of operator-machine interactions, and therefore this data is critical to unlocking new capacity for fab operations.
The platform’s technology enabler is the Argus 2.0 sensor, which combines AI, computer vision and radar into an edge computing device that precisely tracks and digitizes operator activity through machine perception alone. By merging spatial and digital factory data within a unified platform, Plato Systems’ AI algorithms automatically generate events of interest and trigger actionable insights. This provides companies with the unique ability to surface, quantify, and root-cause sources of idle time and understand variations in shift performance with unparalleled granularity.
The platform's comparison viewer facilitates trend analysis across shifts, lines, and facilities, enabling proactive decision-making and continuous improvement initiatives. Furthermore, Plato’s Investigate feature streamlines the investigation of OEE waste through automatically generated video footage of events alongside relevant digital contextual data.
Implementing Plato’s solution is seamless, with minimal disruption to operations. Companies are able to integrate the tool to support the industrial engineering team. Weekly meetings utilizing Plato’s Athena Dashboard become a cornerstone of continuous improvement routines, fostering a culture of performance and cross-team collaboration. The results speak volumes: within three months, Skyworks was able to use Plato to accelerate the analysis of operational efficiency gaps and improve factory performance in key bottleneck areas. Plato Systems’ Spatial Intelligence Platform not only optimizes manufacturing efficiency but also further enhances Skyworks’ position as a leader in operational excellence within the semiconductor industry.
