Lean Manufacturing Systems and Cell Design

Eminent manufacturing systems experts J T. Black and Steve L. Hunter explain how cellular manufacturing and assembly subsystems comprise the foundation for the entire lean production implementation process. Based on decades of study and firsthand observations of prominent companies in the automotive, aerospace, and many other industries, the authors explains how members of the lean implementation team, managers, and engineers can design and implement lean cellular systems.

Integrated manufacturing production systems became a strategy for the redesign of an existing factory into a factory with a future. This strategy is based on a linked-cell manufacturing system that provides for a continuous flow (or smooth movement) of materials through a plant. While some may disagree, there is strong evidence that the linked-cell system was invented at the Toyota Motor Company by vice president of manufacturing, Taiichi Ohno, who referred to it as the Toyota Production System. This system was simple and flexible for even complex products like automobiles. Many U.S. companies have since implemented the strategy in various forms.

In Lean Manufacturing Systems and Cell Design, the authors examine the implementation of lean manufacturing by many companies. The lean production strategy stands in marked contrast to the well-advertised computer-integrated manufacturing approach. Plenty has been written about agile manufacturing, which means a company is able to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace and bring new products to market quickly by using advanced versions of computer-integrated manufacturing. However, computerizing an existing system does not make it agile or integrated. Companies that successfully implement some version of Ohno’s system are agile.

This book presents that experience in a logical ten-step methodology. The ten-step method embodies lean manufacturing, setup reduction, and pull productioncontrol methodologies. Quality control, production control, inventory control, and machine-tool maintenance are also integrated into the linked-cell manufacturing system. This methodology produces superior quality at a low cost, with minimum throughput time. It provides the proper structure for automation to solve quality or capacity problems. The new word for this is autonomation.