Cellular manufacturing, founded on lean manufacturing principles, seeks to increase productivity, quality and flexibility – making it easier to switch products quickly in response to market needs.
Table of contents
What Is Cellular Manufacturing?
Cellular manufacturing is a production strategy in which workstations and equipment are organized into cells designed to perform all tasks necessary for producing a particular product or product family efficiently and waste-free.
This method reduces material handling while simultaneously improving efficiency by eliminating inefficiency in waste removal and movement of materials between cells; each cell typically contains all required machinery as well as trained staff who know how to operate various pieces of equipment while encouraging creativity and process improvements.
Origin and Principles
Cellular manufacturing inspired Ralph Sanders’ ideas and is now an essential element of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma principles, emphasizing waste reduction and continuous improvement. As part of just-in-time manufacturing and group technology, it quickly produces various products with minimal waste production costs.
Difference Between Cellular Manufacturing and Traditional Manufacturing
The difference between cellular manufacturing and traditional manufacturing is given hereunder:
| Basis of Comparison | Cellular Manufacturing | Traditional Manufacturing |
| Layout | Machines organized into cells for specific product families | Machines grouped by function |
| Workflow | Streamlined, continuous flow within cells | Batch processing with larger travel distances between steps |
| Flexibility | High flexibility to switch between different products | Lower flexibility, often requiring reconfiguration |
| Efficiency | Higher efficiency due to reduced material handling and waste | Lower efficiency due to higher material handling and waste |
| Communication | Enhanced communication within cells | Slower communication across functional groups |
| Setup Time | Shorter setup times due to dedicated cells | Longer setup times due to frequent changes in setup |
| Lead Time | Reduced lead times | Longer lead times |
| Inventory Levels | Lower work-in-process inventory | Higher work-in-process inventory |
| Quality Control | Better quality control within cells | Slower identification and resolution of defects |
| Responsiveness | Higher responsiveness to market changes | Lower responsiveness to market changes |
| Space Utilization | Efficient use of space with compact cell layouts | Often requires more space due to functional groupings |
| Vulnerability | More vulnerable to complete cell shutdown if a machine breaks | More robust against individual machine breakdowns |
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
1. Improved quality and productivity
2. Reduced lead times, inventory, and space requirements
3. Enhanced flexibility to switch between products
4. Streamlined production flow
Disadvantages
1. Vulnerable to production bottlenecks due to machinery breakdowns
2. Setup errors can reduce efficiency
3. High initial setup time for machinery and workforce training
Cell Layouts in Cellular Manufacturing
Common cell layouts include:
The typical cell layouts used in cellular manufacturing can include:
- I-shaped cell: Linear arrangement for straightforward sequences
- U-shaped cell: Compact, space-efficient layout enhancing communication
- O-shaped cell (Cage): Circular arrangement for products requiring multiple passes through machines
- T-shaped cell: For products needing materials from different sources
- S-shaped cell: For navigating around shop floor obstructions while maintaining production logic.
Goals and Implementation
The goals of cellular manufacturing are to:
- Minimize setup times
- Maximize flow efficiency
- Reduce work-in-process inventory
- Increase flexibility
- Improve quality
- Reduce lead times
- Maximize machine utilization
- Enhance cost control
- Increase product variety
- Improve the working environment
Final Words
Cellular manufacturing maximizes production by organizing machines into self-contained cells designed to produce specific products. This approach contrasts with traditional manufacturing, which groups machines by function.
Cellular manufacturing maximizes efficiency, reduces waste, improves communication and quality control and shortens lead times and inventory levels resulting in shorter lead times and lower inventory levels; offering greater responsiveness to market changes while being less susceptible to machine breakdown disruptions than its traditional counterpart.
Grounded in lean manufacturing principles, cellular manufacturing dramatically boosts productivity; making it an efficient alternative that traditional layouts.
