CELLULAR MANUFACTURING
CELLULAR MANUFACTURING
By: Apoorv Mathur
What is Cellular Manufacturing ?
A lean manufacturing approach that helps companies build a variety of products with as little waste as possible Equipment and workstations arranged in a sequence that supports smooth material flow through the process, with minimal transport or delay Derived from the word Cell A Manufacturing Cell consists of people and machines or workstations required for performing the process steps For example - if a process for a product requires cutting, followed by drilling and finishing, the cell would include the equipment for performing those steps, arranged in that order Helps companies achieve two important goals of lean:
One-piece flow High-variety production
One Piece Flow
One-piece flow is the state that exists when products move through a manufacturing process one unit at a time, at a rate determined by the needs of the customer The opposite of one-piece flow is large-lot production Goods produced in large lots build delays into the process No items can move on to the next process until all items in the lot have been processed The larger the lot, the longer the items sit and wait between steps One-piece flow is an ideal state In daily operation, it is not always possible or desirable to process items just one at a time The important thing is to promote continuous flow of products, with the least amount of delay and waiting
High-Variety Production
In the early days, a company could produce one type of product
Customers would buy it even if it wasnt exactly what they liked
Today customers expect variety and customization
Specific quantities delivered at a specific time
If your company is not flexible enough to serve their needs customers will go to your competitor Cellular manufacturing offers flexibility to give customers the variety they want
By grouping similar products into families that can be processed on same equipment in the same sequence Encourages companies to shorten changeover time between products Eliminates a major reason for large-lot production
One-Piece Flow Vs. Large-Lot Production
CMS & Group Technology(GT)
CMS layout are based on recognizing similarities in products similarities in geometry, size, materials and processing requirements This similar products are collected Grouped instead of being treated as individuals Leads to product families that visit similar equipment and populate their cells production schedule Simpler setups like in a Job shop can follow and the workers become multifunctional and responsible for all aspects of a product and its quality Cells can be scheduled to produce synchronously bringing the various sub-assemblies in as needed at final assembly with greater variety built in
Traditional Processes
Based on FUNCTIONAL approach Job Shop mentality Pushed in Batches Very little visibility & linkages
Comparison of Process & Cellular Layouts
U-Turn Cells Layout
People assigned to multiple types of equipment. People & materials move from station to station.
Clustering Techniques: the Fundamental Issue 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
Clustering Techniques: The Fundamental Issue in Cell Development
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
Objectives of Cell Design
Reduce defects. Increase space utilization Decrease WIP Engaging suppliers within the cell Materials at point of use Reduce Lead Time
Cellular Layouts Example
Assembly
5 2 1 A B 3 C Raw materials 10
8 12 11
Cellular Layouts Example
Parts A B C D E F G H
1 2 3 4 x x x x x x x x x x
Machines 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Cellular Layouts Example
Machines Parts 1 2 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 A x x x x x B x x x x C x x x D x x x x x E x x x F x x x G x x x x H x x x
Cellular Layouts Example
Machines Parts 1 2 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 A x x x x x D x x x x x B x x x x C x x x E x x x F x x x G x x x x H x x x
Cellular Layouts Example
Parts A D B C E F G H
1 x x
Machines 2 4 8 3 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Cellular Layouts Example
Parts A D F B C E G H
1 2 4 8 x x x x x x x x x x x
Machines 3 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Cellular Layouts Example
Parts A D F B C E G H
1 x x x
Machines 2 4 8 10 3 5 6 7 9 11 12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Cellular Layouts Example
Parts A D F C G B E H
1 x x x
Machines 2 4 8 10 3 6 9 5 7 11 12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Cellular Layouts Example
Assembly
10
12 11
Cell1
Cell 2
Cell 3 7
2
Raw materials
1
A
3
C B
Each of A, B, C now visits only one area, minimizing jumping.
Benefits of Cellular Manufacturing
Promoting one-piece flow through cellular manufacturing can help make your company more competitive Cut costly transport and delay from the manufacturing process Shortens the production lead time
Serves customer needs Gives an earlier return on the investment in the product
Saves space in the factory
Can be used for other value-adding purposes
Promotes continuous improvement
By forcing solutions to problems that block low-inventory production
Disadvantages of Cellular Manufacturing
Sometimes cells may not be formed because of inadequate part families. Some cells may have a high volume of production and others very low. This results in poorly balanced cells When volume of production changes, number of workers are adjusted and workers are reassigned to various cells. To cope with this type of reassignments, workers must be multi-skilled and cross-trained. Sometimes, machines are duplicated in different cells. This increases capital investment.