In determining the requirements of a facility, three important considerations are:

Departmental planning is used to facilitate the consideration of flow, space and activity relationships. Planning departments can be determined by combining workstations that perform "like" functions. The term "like functions " refer to workstations performing operations on similar products or components or to workstations performing similar processes. Planning departments can involve the following areas:

As examples of production planning departments that consist of a combination of workstations performing operations on similar products or components, such as engine block production line departments, aircraft fuselage assembly departments, uniform flat sheet metal departments, etc.. Production planning can be subdivided into four categories:

Production Line Planning Department --->Large volume production with a standard design with little or no variety of layout design (example: engine blocks)

Figure 1

Fixed Materials Planning Department --->Low volume production of a product that is very large and awkward to move and that requires a single, fixed layout design (example: Aircraft fuselage, ships, etc)

Figure 2

Product Family Planning Department-----> Medium production volume and a medium variety of design and layout requirement for similar parts and components. Similar parts and components form a family of components which can be produced by using "group technology". Group Technology is also used for the machinery and equipment layout. (Examples: Common components that are used by more than one type of vehicle model, such as an air conditioning unit)

Figure 3

Process Planning Department-----> There are two ways of looking at process planning activities:

(1) A large variety of products can be processed by the same group of machinery and equipment and there may not be a high demand for each product that is being processed.

(2) Less variety of products may be processed at high production volume.

Figure 4

In group technology, similar parts are grouped together to improve manufacturing effectiveness, The family of parts can be processed by a well-configured set of machines, tools, and fixtures. The technique is inappropriate where mass production is feasible due to large product volume.

GT implementation begins by classifying the various parts that a company is planning to produce. The parts are next coded into groups based on design and/or manufacturing similarities. Manufacturing-based grouping enables the use of similar process plans for all the parts in the family. The family concept maximizes the use of available resources.

The use of GT has been reported to significantly improve the flow of material through the plant. As an example, compare Figure (7) and Figure (8) to appreciate the improvement in the production flow of 150 similar parts. Figure (7) corresponds to the current practice, while Figure (8) is the result of GT implementation.

Figure 7. Process flow chart before GT was implemented.

Figure 8. Process flow chart after GT was implemented.

A manufacturing cell represents a manufacturing and layout concept which is based on grouping machines, employees, materials, tooling, material handling and storage equipment to produce families of parts. The most important benefits of cellular manufacturing are achieved when manufacturing cells are designed, controlled, and operated using Just-in-Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM), and Total Employee Involvement (TEI) concepts and techniques.

JIT manufacturing cells use small lots, decentralized storage areas, standardized containers, simple material handling systems, short set-ups. The philosophy of JIT is to eliminate waste and continuously improve the productivity and quality. The most common sources of waste are equipment, inventories, space, time, labor, handling, transportation, and paperwork.

Manufacturing cells that use TQM principles are designed to satisfy customer needs, and use process inspection, prevention measures and feedback and quick reaction mechanism. Each oragnization tailors TQM to their unique needs and environment. Motorola states, "our fundamental objective is total customer satisfaction". Toyota defines it as "building the very best and giving the customer what he wants". Whatever label is applied to a quality management system, all practitioners emphasize common themes such as:

Since customer satisfaction and minimal cost are a must in global competition, we need to be lean in our manufacturing efforts.

Manufacturing cells are ideal for cross-trained and flexible operators with multifunctional capabilities that are involved and empowered in team work. When manufacturing cells are designed, controlled and operated using JIT, TQM and TEI principles, the following benefits can be achieved:

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