SUSS: Digital audits create added value in plant engineering

SUSS, equipment manufacturer for semiconductor production, relies on cluetec Audit Software. The SUSS Group develops and manufactures systems and process solutions for microstructure applications – an area in which SUSS has over 75 years of experience. The portfolio includes a wide range of products and solutions for back-end lithography, wafer bonding and photomask cleaning.

Initial situation

As innovative as production is at SUSS, a leading manufacturer of system and process solutions for microstructuring in the semiconductor industry and related markets, the approach to internal and external audits was traditional for a long time. These were carried out in Excel according to industry standards.

A high maintenance effort, manual tracking of actions and time-consuming and error-prone evaluations were disadvantages that needed to be optimized: away from rigid Excel tables and towards a digital, dynamic audit process that creates transparency and enables continuous improvements.

Goals & expectations

SUSS is pursuing specific goals with the introduction of cluetec Audit. The focus is on the digitization of all audit processes, with the aim of significantly increasing efficiency and transparency. Those responsible not only want to document the results more quickly, but also prepare them visually and thus create a better basis for decision-making.

The use of mobile devices such as iPads to carry out audits directly on site is also particularly important. Instead of using pen and paper, which leads to an enormous amount of work in follow-up, audits are carried out on tablets. Photos, notes and comments are recorded directly, free from media disruptions.

Another decisive factor is the audit software’s sophisticated action management. Clear responsibilities, structured processes and, last but not least, automated escalation levels not only save time, but also ensure real and sustainable improvements.

Project progress & implementation

The implementation of cluetec Audit at SUSS took place in stages. With the start of the project in November 2023, the existing questionnaires of the audit software were fundamentally revised and tailored to the specific requirements of the company. The content preparation was already completed in March 2024. Just a few months later, in June 2024, the first audit with the new solution was successfully carried out in the area of digitization. After around a year, the software was fully implemented in the audit processes. This was a deliberately planned period in order to be able to meet the necessary coordination and preparation requirements. Since the successful launch, the use of the solution has been continuously expanded. For maximum transparency, for example, separate dashboards have been developed in the integrated Power BI module. In addition to system audits, cluetec Audit has also been used for supplier audits and potential analyses since the beginning of 2025.

Another added value lies in the possibility of integrating international locations such as the plant in Taiwan. Thanks to the simple language selection, SUSS ensures that audits can be carried out in different languages without any problems. This ensures that audits are carried out according to uniform standards worldwide and that results can be transparently compared across locations.

Outlook

Following the successful digitization of system and supplier audits and the development of its own dashboards, SUSS plans to carry out process and product audits with the cluetec audit software in the future. This will create a globally uniform audit standard that not only raises quality to a new level, but also ensures customer satisfaction in the long term.