Cellular Manufacturing

When dissimilar equipment and workstations to produce a family of similar components or subassemblies are arranged close together to save space and time, and simplify process routing and supervision. Workers are typically cross-trained to perform multiple tasks within a manufacturing cell.

Cellular manufacturing involves the use of multiple cells in ;assembly line fashion. Each of these cells is composed of one or multiple different machines which accomplish a certain task. The product moves from one cell to the next, each station completing part of the manufacturing process. Often the cells are arranged in a U-shape design because this allows for the overseer to move less and have the ability to more readily watch over the entire process. One of the biggest advantages of cellular manufacturing is the amount of flexibility that it has. Since most of the machines are automatic, simple changes can be made very rapidly. This allows for a variety of scaling for a product, minor changes to the overall design, and in extreme cases, entirely changing the overall design. These changes, although tedious, can be accomplished extremely quickly and precisely.