Sunpower, a leading semiconductor manufacturer, has embraced an agile methodology to drive its sustainable development initiatives, according to Yan Junming, the Deputy Director of the Corporate Occupational Safety and Health Division at Sunpower’s Kaohsiung plant. The company’s sustainable team is characterized by its flexibility and responsiveness, enabling it to efficiently execute over a hundred sustainability projects annually.
Agile Teams Drive Sustainable Projects
In a recent interview with iThome, Yan highlighted the importance of IT modernization in facilitating the company’s sustainability goals. Sunpower has established cross-functional agile teams that adapt to the needs of each project, ensuring that sustainable applications are developed and deployed rapidly. These teams are highly agile, adjusting their composition based on the requirements of different projects, Yan explained.
The agile approach involves small, iterative steps to push sustainability projects forward. Sunpower began adopting this methodology in 2020, incorporating DevOps and agile development practices to enhance collaboration between IT and sustainability departments. This has allowed for quicker delivery and more efficient feedback, ensuring that the systems and functionalities developed meet the specific needs of the sustainability units.
Integration of Digital Technology in Sustainability Transformation
Sunpower’s focus on digital transformation started with the establishment of a Smart Manufacturing Committee in 2011. As digital transformation efforts yielded results, the company began integrating digital technologies into its sustainability goals, aiming to accelerate the sustainability process.
Yan pointed out that previously, Sunpower’s energy-saving targets were conservative, typically aiming for a 1% to 2% annual reduction in energy consumption, as per the requirements of the Bureau of Energy. However, with the introduction of digital technologies, the company has been able to set more ambitious targets of 3% to 5% reduction.
The shift from relying on manual control to leveraging digital tools has allowed Sunpower to set more challenging goals. This is the greatest advantage of digital technology, Yan emphasized.
Deepening Collaboration Between Sustainability and IT Departments
To integrate digital technology into sustainability transformation, Sunpower has gradually deepened the collaboration between its sustainability and IT departments. Since completing its first smart factory in 2018, the cooperation between the two departments has become increasingly closer. However, initial communication challenges due to the lack of a common language were overcome by converting specialized jargon into understandable content for both parties.
The sustainability department has initiated training programs for corporate sustainability management and ISO-14064 greenhouse gas management courses, involving the IT department. Conversely, the IT department has set up automation classes, smart engineering academies, and cybersecurity colleges, promoting these to various departments, including sustainability units, to help them understand and apply digital tools.
Enhancing Project Management and Tracking
The cross-departmental agile teams at Sunpower’s Kaohsiung plant now exceed a thousand members, with different teams responsible for executing various projects. For instance, the Energy Conservation Alliance is a large sustainability team composed of members from production operations and facility units, focusing on energy project promotion and optimization.
To manage and track project progress, the sustainability units use a digital charting tool to monitor each project’s execution and changes. Regular reviews of project progress, especially for large projects, are conducted, with the Sustainability Development Committee holding thematic meetings every two to three weeks to report to the general manager on the current status, future plans, and execution of projects at the Kaohsiung plant.
Innovations in Carbon Emission Monitoring
The agile teams have achieved significant results in sustainability applications. One such achievement is the establishment of a real-time monitoring mechanism for chemical concentrations in the workplace. previously, monitoring relied on semi-annual environmental assessments, but now, with the integration of sensors and monitoring platforms, the company can respond proactively when concentrations approach abnormal levels.
Sunpower has also refined its carbon emission management practices. The company’s energy management platform, which tracks and manages factory energy consumption and carbon emissions, has been enhanced to monitor carbon emissions at the level of each building floor, providing more detailed data for carbon reduction and energy savings.
AI-Driven Energy Management
Sunpower has also integrated AI into its sustainability projects, such as optimizing chiller load management systems. By combining historical operation data, external temperature and humidity conditions, and algorithms, the company has adjusted chiller operations to maximize the efficiency of its ice water systems.
Moreover, Sunpower is currently executing a project to use AI to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the electroplating ball process. By simulating the use of argon and oxygen instead of fluorine gas for physical etching, the company expects to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Conclusion
Sunpower’s agile approach to sustainability projects, coupled with the integration of digital technologies and AI, underscores the company’s commitment to achieving its sustainability goals. By fostering collaboration between departments and leveraging innovative solutions, Sunpower is setting a benchmark for sustainable practices in the semiconductor industry.
Views: 0