CELLULAR

MANUFACTURING
SYSTEMS
Manufacturing Operations Management

Progress so far
Time
Station

Lot sizing
principles

Cost
EOQ-based
Lot sizing
principles

Material resource planning

Flow of variability, throughput measure
Line

Linking machines/ stations to form cells

Controlling material flow between cells
Simulate a manufacturing company and
apply principles

PROCESS
UNDERSTANDING

Drilling Machine

Lathe/ Milling Machine

Lathe is mainly used to machine cylindrical jobs and operation like

turning, grooving, facing, knurling and treading whereas milling is
used to produce slots, flat surface, boring and gear cutting also.

Casting

Forging

LAYOUT
UNDERSTANDING

Process Layout/ Functional Layout/ Job Shop

DM
TM

TM

TM

TM

VMM

DM

DM

VMM

What are the nice features?

What are the issues?

BM

BM

Group technology/ Cellular layout

TM

DM

BM

TM

VMM

VMM

TM

DM

DM

BM

TM

Decreasing lot size, increasing part variety, diverse material choices,

HIGH

VOLUME

TRANSFER
LINE

SPECIAL
SYSTEM
FLEXIBLE
MANUFACTURING
SYSTEM
MANUFACTURING
Cells
STD. AND GEN.
MACHINERY

LOW

HIGH

VARIETY

Product Family
Similar design
attributes (shape),
dissimilar
manufacturing
attributes
Similar
manufacturing
routings, dissimilar
designs
Also dishes in restaurants.

The missing link?

Drawings
Material
selection
Design

Linking
Process?

Process
Planning

Machine
Routings
etc
Manufacturing

Lack of a database leads to redesigning the wheel

Database to drive automated process planning

Group Technology
Examining Opitz Code:

2nd Digit
main shape

Rotational

3rd Digit
rotational
machining

5th Digit
4th Digit
additional
plane surface holes teeth &
matching
forming

External
shape
element

Internal
shape
element

Machining
of plane
surfaces

Other holes
and teeth

Main shape

Rotational
machining

Machining
of plane
surfaces

Other holes
teeth and
forming

Main bore
& rotational
machining

Machining
of plane
surfaces

Other holes
teeth and
forming

5
6
7
8
9

Special

Main shape

Main shape

Special

Supplimentary
code
Digit

6 7 8 9
Dimensions
Material
Original shape of raw materials
Accuracy

FORM CODE

Non-rotational

Positions
with a
digit

1st Digit
part class

Main shape Opitz coding and classification system.

(H. Opitz, A
Classification System to Describe Workpieces, Pergamon Press.)

Examining Opitz Code:

This Form
code is the
Opitz Code
Solution on this
shaft- like part

Group technology/ Cellular layout

TM

DM

BM

TM

VMM

VMM

TM

DM

DM

BM

TM

Decreasing lot size, increasing part variety, diverse material choices,

Can we explore the existing part design and manufacturing processes?

Product families

Part family a
group of
machines

People,
Incentives,
Justification

Benefits of GT and CMS (Companies Reporting):

52% Report reduction in new part design
10% Report reduction in # of new drawings thru

standardization
30% Report reduction in new shop drawings
20% Report reduction in floor space
45% Report reduced scrap
80% Report reduced production and quality costs
69% Report reduced set-up time (cost)

Note: Reported by companies in a survey of adopters of GT

Benefits of GT and CMS (Companies Reporting):

70% Report reduced throughput time (even more report

better predictability of delivery)

82% Report reduced numbers of overdue orders
42% Report reduced raw-materials inventory
62% Report reduced WIP
60% Report reduced finished goods inventory
33% Report increased employee output/time unit
(productivity improvement)

FORMING PART
FAMILIES

Create part families:

Many times the company has a natural
classification of families, e.g. for sales, for
forecasting, for routing, etc.
ii. If not use part routings to create the
distinction (if necessary adding additional
obvious characteristics to differentiate the
families e.g. size, options, etc.)
iii. In many cases start with a nucleus FTMS
(Risk of losing business completely vs. big
opportunity if improvements could be
demonstrated)
i.

Estimate Aggregate Measures

Annual Demand Batch size Run time Setup time
Part 1 - 10,000
100
5
60
Part 2 12,000
200
10
45

Aggregate batch size?

Aggregate run time?
Aggregate setup time?

The Central Idea in Cell Development

We cluster parts to build part families
Part Families visit cells
Part Families share set-up ideas and equipment (Family Fixtures)
Part Families follow the same (or similar) process routing
These are the ideas and activities that offer reported benefits

FORMING CELLS
Assigning part families to machines

Clustering Techniques
We cluster Machines to build cells:
Cells lead to Flow Mathematics
Cells contain all equipment needed to produce a part family
Cells allow development of Multi-functional workers
Cells hold work teams responsible for production and quality They
Empower the workers
Empowered to set internal schedules
Empowered to assign tasks
Empowered to train and rotate jobs
Etc, etc, etc

Building the CMS Facility

Before
Clustering

After
Clustering

Rank order Clustering

This method automates the cluster study by computing Binary

weights from a machine part matrix

It orders parts and machine cells automatically by structuring and
computing the matrix with binary weights
It implies a computer algorithm for solving the clustering problem
It may not solve if machines are needed by more than one family
forces intelligence in application and hand scanning after several
ordering iterations

Example
Part Number
X

Machine ID

A
1

1
1

D
E

Step 1:
Part Numbers

B. Wt:

25

24

23

22

21

20

Machine ID

B
C

1
1

Step 2: Must Reorder!

1
1

D. Equiv

Rank

23+21 = 10

24+23 = 24

25+22=36

24+23+21
= 26

25+22+20=
37

Step 3:
Part Number

Machine ID

B. WT.

24

23

22

21

20

D. Equiv

24+23
= 24

22+21=
6

22+21+
20=7

24+23=
24

22+20=
5

24=16

Rank

Step 4: Must Reorder

Great
Cluster
Result!

Back at Step 1:
Part Number
B Wt:

25

24

23

22

21

20

Machine ID

Order stays the same: STOP!

D. Eqv

Rank

25+24+
23=56

25+24=
48

22+21+
20 = 7

22+21=6

22+20=5

Rank Order Clustering Method:

1.

2.
3.

4.
5.

For each row of the machine/part matrix (M/P/M) read the pattern
of cell entries as a binary word. Rank the rows by decreasing
binary value. Equal values stay in same order.
Ask if newly ranked rows in the matrix are the same as previous
order? Yes (STOP) No (continue)
Re-form the M/P/M with rows in new descending order. Now rank
the columns by decreasing binary word weight. Columns of equal
weight are left where they are
Are current column weights the same as current column order?
Yes (STOP), No (continue)
Re-form the matrix column order per rank order (highest to left)
and return to #1.

Try Rank Ordering

P1

[aij] =

P2

P3

P4

P5
P6

M1

M2

M3

M4

M5

M6

M7

1
1

1
1

1
1

1
1

1
1

Issues in Clustering:
R/O clustering oscillations indicating need of machine

replication (happens often!)

Presence of Outliers and/or Voids in the finished
clusters
Outliers indicate the need of machine replication
Voids indicate skipped machines in a cell

Generally speaking, these clustering algorithms are

designed to convert existing routes for facility reorganization

They require a previous engineering study to be performed to develop

a series of routers on a core sample of parts that represent most of

the production in the shop
Minimize inter-cell movements

Implementation Begin with a market opportunity or threat

of cells
Find a product family for which lead time
reduction will create a splash
Ensure that the product family is selfcontained within the cell
Dedicate in one area all resources needed
to complete all operations in this family
Rethink processes, equipment choices, and
even design, to enable the family to be selfcontained and resources to be dedicated
Determine lot sizes, m/c capacity
Create cell workforce through volunteers

Performance Measures
Cost Based

Time Based

38

MANUFACTURING CRITICAL-PATH TIME (MCT):

THE ENTERPRISEWIDE METRIC TO

SUPPORT ORDER FULFILLMENT AND
DRIVE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Quality

MCT
Price

On-time
Delivery

39

Current Metric for Supply Management :

Replenishment Lead Time
The typical amount of calendar time from when
a manufacturing order is created until the order
is received by the customer.
o Does

not address how the order is fulfilled

o Order

fulfillment likely based on prebuilt stocks

o Forecast

errors negatively impact the prebuilt stocks

Replenishment Lead Time is not a sufficient metric to

measure supplier flexibility

40

Need for new metrics for measuring

supplier responsiveness
Manufacturing Critical-path Time (MCT)

41

Manufacturing Critical-path Time

The typical amount of calendar time from when
a manufacturing order is created through the
critical path until the first piece of that order is
delivered to the customer.

MCT = MCTRaw + MCTOperations + MCTLogistics

MCT is the right metric to measure supplier flexibility and
responsiveness

42

MCT Analysis Approach

Identify suppliers to pilot the MCT metric
Supplier pre-visit survey and analysis
Visit supplier facility to:
o Map the current MCT
o Identify simple ways for reducing MCT
o Develop long-term recommendations to
support Build-To-Demand (BTD)

Consider an Example
Operation 1: 15 days
Intermediate WIP: 100 units (consumption 5 per day)
Operation 2: 25 days

FGI: 500 units (dispatch 10 per day)

44

Data Collection
Historical data
o Purchase orders
o Part usage rates
o Part receipts

Supplier pre-visit questionnaire

o Response capacity

o Operations chart
o FGI quantities
o Components of replenishment lead time

45

Data Analysis and

Develop Recommendations

Map the process from order entry

through production
o Quoting process
o Raw material procurement

o Order scheduling and production

Littles law for converting inventory into time units

Adopt Quick Response Manufacturing principles
o Lead time analysis using Rapid Modeling Tool (MPX)

Current and Future state MCT Map

46
(c) Debjit Roy, Logistics Management

Source: Rajan Suri, Its about time