Is data mining of manufacturing data beyond first order analysis of value? A case study

Abstract

Abstract: This research-in-progress paper describes a study of data mining using historical manufacturing test data at an electronic circuit board assembly firm. The purpose of this data mining is to determine, if in a multi-step manufacturing process at small and medium manufacturing firm downstream production problems can be identified and prevented by evaluating up stream data. While quantitative analysis and data mining have been used in manufacturing, the scope of their application is generally limited to a specific step or process that is a first order analysis of the data.