Review of Cellular

Manufacturing

Strategies and Concepts

1
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR
MANUFACTURING
REDUCE Manufacturing Cost
REDUCE Manufacturing Lead Time

Improve QUALITY
Improve SERVICE

Lower PRICE

Increase Market Share ($)

Increased PROFITS
Increased WAGES
Increased JOB SECURITY

2
Flow Configurations for
Machine Layout
■ Process of Department Layout
■ Product Layout
■ Fixed Position Layout
■ Hybrid Layout
■ Manufacturing Work cell
■ GT Flow line Work cell

3
High
Transfer
Line
Product Quantity

GT Flow Line Cells

GT Cells

Job Shop
Low

Low Product Variety High

4
 Departmental Layout: Mfg
Sawing Turning
S S S T T T
“Shaft” Milling
S S S T T T
M
Grinding T T T
M
G G G
M
Heat Treating
G G G
HT H
Gear Cut Boring
HT T
GC GC B B

GC GC B B
 Characteristics
of Department Layouts
■ Low Volume, High Variety Production with Random
Routing (Spaghetti-Like Flow)
■ General Purpose Machines--
■ Machine setups are frequent and long
■ Work-In-Process -- High
■ Throughput Rates tend to be Low
■ Material Handling -- High
■ Operator Utilization -- Low?
■ Throughput Times (Lead Time) -- High
■ System is Very Flexible, produces many different
types of parts: gears, shafts, pinions, housings,
clamps, etc.

6
Product Line Layout
A
Lathe Mill Grind

B
Lathe Drill Wash

C
Lathe Seal Wash

7
 Characteristics
of Product Line Layout
■ High volume operations, Continuous production
■ Specialized capital intensive resources
■ Faster processing rates
■ Lower inventories
■ Less unproductive time lost to changeovers
■ Less flexibility
■ Low resource utilization for low volume
products or services.

8
 “Production Cell”
Definition:

A group of functionally dissimilar

production capabilities located in
physical proximity which are
dedicated to the complete processing
of similar demand requests.

9
 Shaft Cell (Flow-Line)
HT

T G

Worker
S M
Cross trained/
multifunctional
IN OUT
10
Characteristics of Flow-line
Manufacturing Cells

■ Short Lead-Times
■ Small Backlogs (In-process Inventory)
■ Reduced Material Handling
■ Improved Quality
■ More Flexible Workforce

11
 Manufacturing Vs. Service
Cells
Factor Manufacturing Service
Production Machines People
Capabilities

Demand Production Orders for Document Processing

Requests Parts Requests

Similar Production parts with Documents with

Demand similar required similar required
Requests processing steps processing steps

Physical All “cell machines” All “cell people”

Proximity grouped together in one grouped together in
area of the shop floor one common office
area.
12
 Departmental Layout:
Service
Scanning &
Data Prep Validation Verification
+ + + • • O
• O
+ + + • • O
O O
O
O

Sales Review & TPOS Key

X X ∆ ∆ Grouping by
X ∆ ∆ function, not job
type...

13
Tax Type I Cell (Flowline)
Special

Est. Billing
Tax

Exceptions
Scan Data
& Verify
Pull/Sort

Data One or more multi-

Prep skilled personnel in Profiles
same area
14
 Characterization of Flow-
line Service Cells

■ Shorter Lead-Times
■ Smaller Backlogs
■ Reduced Paper Handling
■ Improved Quality, Quicker Response
■ More Flexible Workforce

15
U-Shaped Layout Pattern for
Flow Line Workcells

2 3 1

1 4 2

1st Shift n operator #n 2nd Shift

50 pcs/hr 30 pcs/hr

(a) Flexible Staffing and Adjustable Production Rates

16
U-Shaped Layout Pattern for
Flow Line Workcells
Wash

Heat Sub-
Treat Assembly
Paint

Machining

(b) Inter-Linked U-Shaped Cells

17
 LOT vs. CONTINUOUS
FLOW PROCESSING

MACHINE 1 MACHINE 2

Job Batch Setup Process Setup Process

1 100 pcs 60 min 1 min/pc 70 min 0.9 min/pc

18
CASE A: LOT PROCESSING

M1 LOT M2

Setup Process Setup Process

60 min 100 min 70 min 90 min

MACHINE #1 MACHINE #2

PRODUCTION LEAD TIME=5.33 HRS

19
CASE B: CONTINUOUS FLOW

M1 M2 .....

M1 100 PRODUCTION LEAD TIME SAVINGS

SU=60 5.33 hrs - 2.67 hrs = 50%
5.33 hrs

SU=70 90

PLT = 2.67 hrs

20
 100
90
80
Time Savings (%)
Production Lead

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Number of Production Operations

Terminology
■ Order: A customer order is a request from a
customer for a specific quantity of an end item to be
delivered by a specific date

■ Job: A set of physical materials that traverse routings

■ Throughput(rate): the average output of a production

process per unit time

■ Cycle Time, Flow Time Throughput Time: Average

time between the release of a job to the completion of
a job.

■ Manufacturing Lead Time: The time alloted for

production of a part 22
Four Critical Perspectives
■ Resource Perspective

■ Spatial Perspective

■ Transformation Perspective

■ Organizational Perspective
23
 ADVANTAGES OF CELLS
■ Improved workflow
■ Increased operational flexibility
■ Reduced material handling
■ Improved quality
■ Improved equipment utilization
■ Facilitates reduced setup times and tooling
costs (Identifies families of parts)
■ Flexible staffing and improved operator
utilization

24
 ADVANTAGES OF CELLS
■ Improved human relations
■ Workers respond positively when goals are
apparent and attainable
■ Workers have a greater sense of
importance (job enlargement)
■ Labor productivity increases
■ Problems are continually revealed and best
solved by “Cell Teams!”

JIT → Enforced Problem Solving

25
 ADVANTAGES OF CELLS
■ Improved/Simplified Shop Floor Control
■ Simplified paperwork
■ Less supervision??
■ Accurate machine and manpower
requirement analysis
■ Facilitates Better Quality and “Quicker
Adjustments”
■ Improved information flow

26
DISADVANTAGES OF
CELLS
■ Reduced Flexibility
■ Imbalance of machine utilization
■ Equipment Cost (Duplication)
■ Higher Skill/Training
■ Relocation Costs
■ Tooling/Support
■ Cost of Downtime

27
DISADVANTAGES OF
CELLS
■ Traditional Methods of Cost Justification
Don’t Work
■ Obsolescence of Technology
■ Potential of crippling delays due to
machine breakdowns, operator
absenteeism,etc.
■

28
Building Lean Production
Systems
■ Create a subplant or focused factory
within the larger factory
■ Divide the subplants into processing
blocks
■ Subdivide processing blocks into cells
■ Create corresponding storage,shipping
and receiving facilities

29
Ways to focus plants:
Business Philosophy and Strategy

■ Product
■ Group by product type
■ Organize by product volume
■ Reduce the number of products
■ Segregate new products
■ Processes
■ Group by process technology
■ Reduce the number of technologies
■ Limit the number of raw materials

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Questions

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