Cellular layout is a manufacturing approach that organizes equipment and workstations into cells dedicated to producing families of parts, optimizing production flow in small lots. It leverages group technology to facilitate just-in-time manufacturing, aiming to reduce waste and improve efficiency through better use of resources and employee empowerment. Although it offers several advantages like reduced handling time and enhanced scheduling, challenges include potential issues with cell formation and the need for cross-trained workers.

1. CELLULAR LAYOUT

2. ORIGIN/INTRODUCTION OF
CELLULAR LAYOUT

3. FLOW IN A U-CELL
• EQUIPMENT AND WORKSTATIONS USED TO PRODUCE ARE ARRANGED TO
FACILITATE
• CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION FLOW IN SMALL LOTS.
Example of Cellular
Layout

4. CELLULAR LAYOUT
• EVERY CELL CONTAINS A GROUP OF MACHINES WHICH ARE DEDICATED TO
THE PRODUCTION OF A FAMILY OF PARTS.
• ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS TO IDENTIFY A FAMILY PARTS THAT REQUIRE THE
SAME GROUP OF MACHINES.
• THESE LAYOUTS ARE ALSO CALLED AS GROUP TECHNOLOGY LAYOUTS.

5. CELLULAR LAYOUT
• USED TO MAKE PARTS IN JUST-IN-TIME MANUFACTURING
• BASED ON GROUP TECHNOLOGY
• GROUP TECHNOLOGY (GT): A METHOD OF ORGANIZING PARTS INTO
FAMILIES WITH SIMILAR MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS
• A MANUFACTURING CELL IS CREATED FOR EACH PART FAMILY

6. EXAMPLE OF GROUP TECHNOLOGY

7. PROCESS FLOW BEFORE THE GROUP
TECHNOLOGY

8. PROCESS FLOW AFTER THE GROUP
TECHNOLOGY

9. TRADITIONAL BATCH PROCESSING

10. ONE PIECE FLOW
• HANDLING ITEMS ONE AT A TIME ELIMINATES WASTES INHERENT IN BATCH
PRODUCTION
• AND ENABLES A BALANCED FLOW OF WORK.

11. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CELLS LAYOUT
• IDENTIFICATION OF FAMILIES PRODUCTS
• A HIGH LEVEL OF TRAINING, FLEXIBILITY AND EMPOWERMENT OF EMPLOYEES
• BEING SELF-CONTAINED, WITH ITS OWN EQUIPMENT & RESOURCES

12. IMPROVING LAYOUTS USING WORK CELLS

13. IMPROVING LAYOUT USING WORK CELLS

14. EXAMPLE OF CELLULAR LAYOUT

15. CONTINUE
• THE PREVIOUS SLIDE SHOWS A FACILITY IN WHICH THREE PARTS A, B, C FLOW
THROUGH THE MACHINES.
• SOME OTHER PARTS D,E,F,G & H ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE NEXT SLIDES.
• THE ROWS CORRESPOND TO THE PARTS AND COLUMNS TO THE MACHINES.
• JUST BY INTERCHANGING ROWS AND COLUMNS, EVENTUALLY A MATRIX IS
OBTAINED WHERE THE “X” MARKS ARE ALL CONCENTRATED NEAR THE
DIAGONAL. THIS MATRIX PROVIDES THE CELLS. FOR EXAMPLE, PARTS A, D AND
F REQUIRE MACHINES 1, 2, 4, 8 AND 10 WHICH FORMS A CELL.

16. EXAMPLE TABLE
Parts 1 2 3 4 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
Machines

17. CELLULAR LAYOUT OF THE EXAMPLE
Parts 1 2 4 8 10 3 6 9 5 7 11 12
A x x x x x
D x x x x x
F x x x
C x x x
G x x x x
B x x x x
E x x x
H x x x
Machines

18. FINAL VIEW AFTER CELLULAR LAYOUT
EACH OF A, B, C NOW VISITS ONLY ONE AREA, MINIMIZING JUMPING
12
12 3
4
5
6
7
8 910
11
A BCRaw materials
Cell1
Cell 2 Cell 3
Assembly

19. OBJECTIVE OF CELLULAR LAYOUT
• ELIMINATION OF WASTE (MUDA)
Transportation
Inventory
Movement
Waiting
Over
Processing
Over Production
Defects

20. CELLULAR LAYOUT ADVANTAGES
• REDUCED MATERIAL HANDLING AND TRANSIT TIME
• REDUCED SETUP TIME
• REDUCED WORK-IN-PROCESS INVENTORY
• BETTER USE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
• BETTER SCHEDULING, EASIER TO CONTROL AND AUTOMATE
• LESS FLOOR SPACE REQUIRED
• REDUCED DIRECT LABOR
• HEIGHTENED SENSE OF EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
• INCREASED USE OF EQUIPMENT & MACHINERY
• REDUCED INVESTMENT ON MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

21. CELLULAR LAYOUT DISADVANTAGES
• 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