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Cellular Manufacturing is a model for workplace design, and is an integral part of lean manufacturing systems. The goal of lean manufacturing is the aggressive minimization of waste, called muda, to achieve maximum efficiency of resources. Cellular manufacturing, sometimes called cellular or cell production, arranges factory floor labor into semi-autonomous and multi-skilled teams, or work cells, who manufacture complete products or complex components.
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Apparently, installing a single, focused cell for a few end-items is more practical than installation of many cells as required for a cellular layout. The process of Autonomation is used by organizations that have production lines that can be switched to automatic assembly. Computers and robotic systems are set up to take control of certain parts of the cells, and they are often capable of following very detailed instructions. Once automated, systems can be programmed to double check themselves, detect recurring flaws, cease production when necessary, and run through halting routines if the machinery needs to be reset. Employees are free to focus on other aspects of production while also being available to fix any occurring assembly problems.
It is for this reason that the one-piece-flow cell has been called the ultimate in lean production.” Since cellular manufacturing can be easily disrupted by machine breakdown (or the time it takes to repair broken machinery), it is always wise to have replacements on hand and the capability to substitute the broken parts quickly. This extra machinery and the space it occupies will be a significant cost, and it should therefore always be counted in the cost when considering a switch to lean manufacturing. When production includes duplicate machinery, multi-period production planning, or dynamic system reconfiguration, careful planning is required, since cellular manufacturing can be difficult to change once put into place.
Benefits of Manufacturing cells Include:
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- And cells may even help inthe iterative process of designing new products that were not thought ofbefore.
- One reason cells are successful is that they often eliminate many of the wastes inherent in a typical manufacturing operation.
- Only research and development and human resource management are not dedicated to the mini-plant.
- Cellular manufacturing facilitates both production and quality control.17 Cells that are underperforming in either volume or quality can be easily isolated and targeted for improvement.
- Since many manufacturing tasks are in fact not perfectly defined and not necessarily easy to represent graphically or with data, the use of “fuzzy set theory” is common when designing cellular manufacturing systems.
In the production line, numerous workers are needed to service a single production line running from receiving of raw material to shipping of finished product. A breakdown in staffing or machinery in any part of the line nearly always resulted in the entire process being idled until the specific difficulty in the line was repaired, or re-crewed. With cellular manufacturing, production is divided among groups, or cells, of workers and production machinery. Thus, the breakdown of one cell, due to equipment malfunction or staffing problems, does not radically affect the rest of the production process. A critical step in implementing a cellular manufacturing system is to develop manufacturing cells.
Engineering approach
Because units may be in quantities as low as one and remain efficient, it reduces work in process and space requirements often overwhelmed with batching. Depending on the cell sequence, cells can have specialized workers assigned per cell or be cross-trained to oversee the work of adjacent cells or the whole cell sequence. While a cell may produce finished parts from start to finish, in most cases, cells are arranged in a flow wherein the output of a previous cell is input for the next one. Cross-training workers within the cell is essential for maintaining flexibility and reducing downtime.
Cellular manufacturing can energize the group, attacking the lethargy found in many industrial situations. Cellular manufacturing calls for radical changes in the way industrial work is designed, structured, planned, controlled, and supervised. It makes worker self-management a reality, so management must be convinced that the workers can master all the required aspects of the work. Finally, with better quality and lead time, brand reputation isenhanced, leading to higher sales and more business. And cells may even help inthe iterative process of designing new products that were not thought ofbefore. Of course, as an essential component of lean manufacturing, workcells can slash costs lost to waste.
Self-Assessment and Goal Setting
Clustering of machines and parts is one of the most popular production flow analysis methods. The algorithms for machine part grouping include Rank Order Clustering, Modified Rank Order Clustering,18 and Similarity coefficients. In this way, work cells increase the flexibility to upgrade processes and allow changes in products to better suit customer demands while reducing or eliminating the costs of breakdown. Even though the machinery may be functionally dissimilar, the family of parts produced contains similar processing requirements or has structural similarities. Thus, all parts basically follow the same routing with some minor variations (e.g., skipping an operation).
Steps-by-Step how to implement Cellular Manufacturing
The drive toward excellence is fueled by the human need to achieve until the desire to excel and continuously improve becomes part of the factory culture. Then as workers learn by doing more, they become more proficient at generating ideas, which perpetuates the cycle of improvement. Cellular manufacturing can be the structural catalyst that starts, contains, and sustains the improvement process. Madis is an experienced content writer and translator with a deep interest in manufacturing and inventory management. Combining scientific literature with his easily digestible writing style, he shares his industry-findings by creating educational articles for manufacturing novices and experts alike.
Example of a Product Family Breakdown:
The most frequently used machines in a cell include lathes, milling machines, and drill presses. Often a U-shaped arrangement of the various machines involved in manufacturing a product. This layout eliminates the need to move the item being manufactured from one area or department of the factory to another. In addition to saving the handling cost, it may save space and reduce inventory levels. SMED, or single-minute exchange of die, is used by organizations that have only a limited number of machines but several different products to create.
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However, in a cellular manufacturing environment, the process determines the layout. This system is often put in place to improve the flow of resources and to help the company operate in a leaner fashion. Overproduction is an example of a waste because more products are made than can be manufacturing cell definition used. A manufacturing cell eliminates waste by making it easier to produce only what is needed.
- By breaking the factory into small, homogeneous and cohesive productive units, production and quality control is made easier.
- By amplifying the production of strigolactones, the researchers now have the ability to study these scarce and mysterious plant molecules in much greater depth than before.
- Control is always enhanced when productive units are kept at a minimum operating scale, which is what cellular manufacturing provides.
- The goal of cellular manufacturing is having the flexibility to produce a high variety of low demand products, while maintaining the high productivity of large scale production.
- As a result, this type of organization achieves high flexibility combined with good adaptability and demanding work tasks.
- As you consider this leap, remember that the journey of cellular manufacturing is one of continuous evolution, offering opportunities for growth, innovation, and sustained success.
This unit has complete responsibility for producing a family of like parts or a product. All necessary machines and manpower are contained within this cell, thus giving it a degree of operational autonomy. Each worker is expected to have mastered a full range of operating skills required by his or her cell. Therefore, systematic job rotation and training are necessary conditions for effective cell development.
