Quality

Top Quality Management System

As part of our drive toward total customer satisfaction, we’ve developed a Total Quality Management System that provides strict policies and procedures on how our facilities, business processes and employees must operate. Based upon industry-standard practices, these procedures guide manufacturing; customer support and response; records-keeping and performance monitoring. The Spansion Quality Manual specifies key processes that govern our operations. However, there are site-, function-, or area-specific variations to some of these key processes.

Spansion Quality Management Board

Overseeing all of our reliability systems, the Spansion Quality Management Board (QMB) brings together executive representatives from each of our organizations worldwide on a regular basis. The council reviews quality systems and procedures, defines new processes, works to resolve issues and helps ensure the consistency of the Spansion quality management system worldwide.

Quality Infrastructure Processes

• Certification
• Quality System Management
• Continual improvement
• Sophisticated document control systems and in-depth records databases
• Performance monitoring and audits
• Device analysis
• Comprehensive factory quality assurance procedures
• Procedures for handling non-conforming materials and their disposition
• Preventive action
• Corrective action

Quality Infrastructure Processes (Details)

• Certification.
  All of Spansion’s production facilities are certified to the demanding ISO/TS 16949:2002 global technical specification, ISO 9001:2000 quality standards and the ISO 14001 environmental standard.
• Quality System Management.
  In accordance with ISO/TS 16949, Spansion management holds Quality System Management Review (QSMR) meetings every six months to review all aspects of the Spansion Quality System. Members of the Spansion Quality Management board, or their designees, attend the meetings, along with executives and representatives of affected support groups outside of Spansion if needed. Attendees of the QSMR meeting identify and assist in prioritizing opportunities for continual improvement in areas and operations which are acceptable, while mandating corrective action for those that are not. The QMB is the final authority on prioritizing needed corrective action and continual improvement activities.
• Continual improvement.
  The Continual Improvement process applies to all Spansion personnel and provides a method for identifying opportunities for improvement related to any Spansion operation. The process involves careful monitoring of yields, reject rates, throughput times, and other key performance metrics. Suggested improvements are proposed to an immediate supervisor, manager, or designated team leader, who will either review and approve the proposed solution, or request that additional studies be done. Once approved, the solution is typically implemented in conformance with an existing specification or procedure, or a new specification or procedure is created.
• Sophisticated document control systems and in-depth records databases.
  Vital documentation is electronically accessible by all Spansion facilities and employees worldwide. Thanks to this sophisticated system, Spansion has never been reported for a major non-conformity during any customer or third-party certification audit. To successfully do what you say, say what you do, and prove it, requires a flawless documentation system – like the one used by Spansion.
• Performance monitoring and audits.
  Someone once said, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth measuring.” At Spansion, we measure the performance of every key process, especially those that are customer-facing. We rigorously monitor product quality and reliability to verify that processes are in place and repeatable.
• Device analysis.
  Spansion operates Device Analysis (DA) Laboratories across the globe, with locations in the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany and China. Equipped with state-of-the-art tools and expertise in the latest techniques for fault isolation and verification, these labs support our customers and the engineering community by performing failure analysis. Failure analysis drives to root cause and corrective action for continual product improvement.
• Comprehensive factory quality assurance procedures.
  Virtually every process within Spansion has built-in quality requirements. Statistical Process Management is used extensively throughout manufacturing to help ensure that non-conforming products are found at the point of origin. The use of Univariate Fault Detection, or classical Statistical Process Control, is prevalent throughout all manufacturing areas. Years ago, Spansion took this model one step further and created Multivariate Analysis or Advanced Process Control (APC). Through the use of proprietary equipment sensor modules, APC methods comprehend interactions between individual, but related, tools and can therefore reduce variation that traditional SPC methods might miss.
• Procedures for handling non-conforming materials and their disposition.
  All Spansion personnel have the responsibility to report any suspected product or process non-conformance found during routine performance of their jobs. Management will then refer the suspected non-conformances to engineering or management for appropriate action or disposition.
• Preventive action.
  Preventive actions may be proposed by any Spansion employee (to prevent the occurrence of non-conformities) and are reviewed by the appropriate Spansion authority. Preventive actions are tracked and periodically reported by the specification owner. They are summarized and reported at the appropriate QSMR meeting.
• Corrective action.
  Corrective action may be proposed by any Spansion employee. Reporting may be informal and follow the same process as continual improvement activities. Formal corrective actions may be required by some specifications or procedures (such as responses to audit non-conformities). Where necessary, formal Corrective Action Requests (CARs) may be issued and must be handled per the process described in the Spansion Corrective Action System. Any Spansion personnel assigned a CAR by any other Spansion employee is obligated to respond to that CAR.

For more in-depth information on our total quality management system, please see the detailed guidelines contained in our Spansion Quality Manual.