Case Study: IBM Burlington achieves 27% water reduction, 30% higher manufacturing capacity and $10M annual savings with OSIsoft's PI System

Using data to adapt to changing markets

IBM Burlington, IBM’s semiconductor plant in Vermont, has produced chips since 1957 and built a culture of continuous improvement using the PI System to monitor operations. Faced with rising overseas competition and the high, mission‑critical cost of ultra‑pure water (about 3.2 million gallons per day), the site needed better visibility to reduce costs without risking production.

IBM expanded the PI System to integrate utility, deionization, wastewater and manufacturing data, using real‑time analysis and visualization to reveal links between water, energy, chemicals and process performance. Those insights enabled targeted changes that reduced water use by 27%, increased manufacturing capability by 30%, avoided major new infrastructure, and delivered roughly $10 million in annual savings while supporting ongoing process validation and efficiency gains.

IBM

Jeff Chapman

Senior Engineer, IBM Burlington