Philips Semiconductors Quality QUALITY Total Quality Management Philips Semiconductors is a Quality Company, aiming towards one ultimate standard, that of Business Excellence. The tool we use in striving towards this goal is our Total Quality Management (TQM) system. The TQM is described in our Quality manuals, and is summarized in the following paragraphs. The Philips Business Excellence Programme as part of TQM follows the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model. The EFQM award is on the level of the Malcolm Baldridge award. QUALITY ASSURANCE Quality Assurance (QA) is based on ISO 9000 standards and customer standards such as QS-9000. Our factories are certified to ISO 9000 and QS-9000 by external inspectorates. Sales organizations and headquarters are also certified to ISO 9000. The products of Philips Semiconductors are in conformance with the requirements of international standards. PARTNERSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS Partnerships with customers include Process Quality measurement co-operation (using PPM), design-in agreements, ship-to-stock, just-in-time, sharing technology roadmaps, a change notification programme, self-qualification programmes and application support. PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS General By means of failure-mode-and-effect analysis the critical parameters of a process are identified. Procedures are then laid down to ensure the highest level of performance for these parameters. The capability of process steps is also planned in this phase in preparation for production under statistical process control. Quality network Product quality is the responsibility of the Business Lines, with their Quality and Reliability (Q&R) departments operating in a supportive and controlling manner. The sales organization has Quality Managers who respond to any quality matters raised by customers. Customer complaints are then handled by direct contact between Sales Quality and the relevant Q&R department. General quality requirements are covered by a divisional Quality department. Product conformance The assurance of product conformance is an integral part of our Quality Assurance practice. This is achieved by: * In-line Quality Assurance to monitor process reproducibility during manufacture. Equipment performance and process steps are under statistical process control. * Acceptance tests on finished products to verify conformance with the device specification. The test results are used for Quality feedback and corrective actions. Periodic sample inspections to monitor and measure the conformance of products are increasingly being replaced by continuous in-line monitoring. Our suppliers are certified to ISO 9000 and participate in ship-to-stock programmes. Key-suppliers receive support and feedback through our Supplier Quality System (SQS) audits. * Qualification tests. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME Product reliability The continuous improvement programme incorporates continuous process and system improvement, design improvement, complete use of statistical process control, and logistics improvement, driven by key performance indicators. To encourage improvement in teamwork a very popular Quality Improvement Competition is held yearly. With a large number of improvement teams participating, opportunities arise for the sharing of successful improvement ideas. Highly accelerated tests are implemented to evaluate and monitor product reliability. Rejects from reliability tests are subjected to failure analysis, so that improvements may be made. This analysis also extends to product related customer complaints. Advanced quality planning During the design and development of new products and processes, quality is built-in by advanced quality planning. 1999 May 07 The inspection and test requirements are detailed in the General Quality Specifications in the SNW-FQ-611 series. Customer response Our quality improvement depends on working together with our customer. We need our customer's input, and we therefore invite constructive comments on all aspects of our performance. For all such matters, please contact your local Philips Semiconductors sales representative. 120