Engineers Suhardi Sarrif, 29, and Abdul Hamid Ahmad, 41, (main head picture) check the accuracy of a KLA Tencor instrument.
KLA tools inspect variations in material or unusual particles invisible to man, going down to sizes well over a hundred times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
The machine, a $3-million instrument called the KLA Sensor, checks that wafers that will eventually be sliced into computer chips are absolutely perfect: without a scratch, speck of dust or hint of unevenness.
The tool in Mr Suhardi's hands shows him the different ways to use a robotic arm in the machine and to use lasers and other scanners to align the system.
TWO of the world's biggest chip equipment makers have set up training programmes here with ambitious plans to train about 1,000 engineers and managers for the $22 billion (according to 2006 figures) precision engineering industry.
One is United States-based KLA Tencor, which makes precise instruments to check that wafer fabrication machines are running without a hitch. It is moving its training headquarters to Singapore from the US.
The other is Novellus Systems, also of the US, which manufactures the wafer fabrication machines that transform wafers from raw silicon to semiconductive materials.
Both companies, which employ about 470 people here, said they want training done here because about 70 per cent of their clients are based in Asia in countries such as Japan, South Korea and China.
KLA Tencor's training centre, which will be ready by April, will show not only their own engineers, but also customers, how their complex machines work.
'Learning how to use our machines is like training a chef who can use a flexible recipe to create a desired outcome from the machine,' explained Mr Theo Kneepkens, its vice-president of Asia operations.
The company is the largest one in the world that specialises in making sure the process of making silicon chips runs smoothly.
Some machines in its range are so precise that the scale of magnitude is equivalent to spotting a button on the road from the top of Taipei 101, the world's tallest building, said Mr Kneepkens, 38. The machines cost from US$1 million (S$1.4 million) to US$30 million each.
Such precision is necessary because these machines save millions of dollars more down the line as the process of making a computer chip is long and complex.
The new training centre here will see precision engineers and customers flying in from around the globe, to learn about their equipment.
KLA has hired 380 staff in Singapore, all of whom must at least hold a diploma for the highly-skilled jobs. At least 120 more will be needed to manufacture and install the machines within the next two years.
The training at Novellus headquarters in Singapore will focus on front-line managers. The first programme at the end of the month will see 30 engineers-turned-managers being equipped to handle not semiconductor machinery, but people.
Novellus South-east Asia President, Mr Andrew Goh, who has been in the industry for 15 years, said professionals will train these managers who will deal with high-end equipment, top engineers in clean rooms and customers across Asia.
'Lead engineers must know how to work with customers, manage their expectations and the best way to explain the technicalities of our equipment to customers,' said Mr Goh, 41.
A marathon-runner and avid golfer, he said: 'I hope to show them the PE game is really a lot like golf. It's exciting to keep lowering your score. Similarly, how much smaller can you make the product and how much faster?'
