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.