Manufacturing Cells

“Manufacturing cells” happen when we group machines together according to their function.

For example, let’s say our manufacturing company makes two things: keychains and kitty condos. (It’s a weird business model, but it works.) On our factory floor, we have all the keychain-making equipment on one side and all of the kitty condo machines on the other. We’ve got three kitty condo stations and six keychain stations, and every station includes every piece of equipment needed to make that particular product. In other words, our equipment is arranged into manufacturing cells. This helps us be more productive and efficient: people don’t have to traipse back and forth, carrying little kitty condo pieces from one side of the floor to the other, because everything they need is in close proximity.

But manufacturing cells aren’t just about physical convenience. They can also help us stay more organized—we know where to look when we start running low on keychain glitter—and they can make us better able to respond to market changes, customer demands, and any issues that arise with productivity levels or quality control. So if we receive a custom order for two hundred sherpa-lined kitty condos with built-in Bluetooth capability, we can easily convert one kitty condo station to produce the order, while the other stations continue making our standard kitty condo designs.

Lean manufacturing fans are big proponents of manufacturing cells, because they eliminate wasted time, wasted money, and wasted inventory.