Functional Layout
The functional layout is process oriented. When a factory has been described as to having a functional layout, it means that the operations which are followed in the manufacturing process are grouped in terms of the basis of the functions, the technology in use and the equipments which are operational. If a factory has these layout as the operational layout, equipment of a certain type is all installed in one designated area which is fee from any other activity. Separate areas are designated for other types of equipment. In such a layout if a certain manufacturing process requires the use of lathe machines, all of them would be grouped in a single place.
In the operational layout, the machines are grouped in such a way as to follow the operational sequence to the mark. One of the advantages of using the functional layout over the operational layout is the traditional output that it offers. In this way, it is simple to develop a simple plant to a large manufacturing company as it only requires putting up extra functional machines alongside others of the same caliber. This would lead to segregating the machines in the company according to type.
At the same time, it is workable in factories whose work sequence does not follow a particular sequence and so the sequence of operations is not interrupted. The main advantages of this method was the possibility of having common workers in a common area which ensured that they would get better training as they could also learn from each other. The tools in use would also be properly specialized considering that they were close to one another.
Cellular Manufacturing
Cellular manufacturing is another type of manufacturing which has infiltrated into lean manufacturing. It is based on group technology which makes use of the similarity that exists between various parts through the use of common standards and processing techniques. Unlike in functional manufacturing where similar machines are placed together, this mode groups together machines which produce the same family of products. This method has an advantage of improving the flow of material to a considerable level. In this case, distance that the materials travel is reduced significantly. The process of inventory is greatly reduced as well as the lead time which is a cumulative figure. This method is mostly applicable for best results in batch manufacturing.
While using the technique of lean of lean manufacturing, companies project at being more efficient and having less wastes. In cellular manufacturing, the factory’s labor is arranged into teams which are concerned with the production of complete or complex products. When the teams or the cells are trained and implemented in the proper manner, there tends to be better response as compared to mass production. In this mode, there is increased efficiency in managing of defects and processes, scheduling, and maintenance of equipments amongst other processes of manufacturing. There are many phases which are emphasized in the process of lean manufacturing. They include; stability, continuity and flow, standardized work, pull system, level production and continual improvement.
The current world of business is in such a way that, an industry is defined by the level of competitiveness. This makes these companies to be key players in enhancing the highest levels of efficiency (Detert, et al., 2000,860). Company managers in most parts of the world are in a constant will to develop lean -manufacturing practices that will in turn help in addressing their various problems. Cellular Manufacturing can be defined as an approach whereby a maximum amount of products is produced with the least level of wastage. A cell entails a group of working units or tools of work that function together to create a continuous flow of different parts from one manufacturing stage to another without having to necessarily wait for one batch of products to be completed before the other is handled and without having to provide for an extra handling in between the operations. In relation to this, cellular manufacturing is a situation whereby there is an integration of existing work machinery and only few members of staff, working under a responsible leader, are used to produce a finished product without having to put in extra resources that have no much value to the product being created.
Incorporation of Cellular Manufacturing
The change from the use of traditional techniques and processes of manufacturing to the use of cellular manufacturing is one that most companies have regarded as being very tasking. Managers of such companies are faced with the huge task of dealing with different issues that include cell set up and design, team design as well as placement, training of employees, enhancing effective team work among other functional aspects of the company. Each of these issues has been discussed below. It is important that a project team made up of production staff members and management be formed to take control of the occurring changes within these companies (Yauch & Steudel, 2002, 603).
Cell -Design and Set up: This is done to allow for the smooth movement of products from one stage of production to another and should be in such a way that many other products are produced. The arrangement of cell s in such a way that it creates a “U” shape that allows for minimal movement of materials to take place.
Team -Design and Placement: this is an important part of the production process. It calls for staff members to work together as a cell team under a selected team leader. The team leader is in this case the pillar for the entire cell and is also in charge of the completed product quality within their respective cells (Karlsson & Åhlström, 1995, 11).
Staff Training: This needs to also be part of the implementation of manufacturing. The use of cellular manufacturing requires that employees control several machines within a cell making it necessary for each of these staff members to be efficiently trained to enhance the creation of a highly skilled labor force. It is through such cross training that one member of staff will gain proficiency in using his or her machines and at the same time be able to control other different machines within his or her cell (Shapiro & Kirkman, 1999, 65).
Teamwork Training: This should be in such a way that it promotes solidarity among team members making each cell and that it promotes group problem solving. Staff members making up a team are fully empowered to enhance constant cell improvement through their learnt skills, ideas as well as production processes. This in turn promotes the reduction of lead time, reduction and complete eradication of waste as well as enhancing the overall production of quality products.
Other important issues that need to be tackled include alterations in the processes of production planning, purchasing, production control as well as cost -accounting practices. Grouping staff members into cells is a key to the achievement of two major lean manufacturing goals within a company. These two goals include the promotion of a manufacturing process that maintains one piece smooth flow of products as well as maintain high and quality levels of production. These two concepts significantly alter the total inventories required over a given time period. Attainment of a one piece flow is highly influenced by the various needs of different consumers. This occurs when products being manufactured move from one production stage to another as a single unit and not as a batch. It aims at promoting single unit production with minimal or no unintended interruptions as well as promoting speedy production processes (Quinn & Spreitzer, 1991, 118).
Enhancing high and quality levels of production are also influenced by the customers’ needs and desires who not only expect customization but to also have particular quantities delivered to them at given specific times. Through Cellular manufacturing companies are able to become flexible in meeting the various demands of their consumers by placing the products that are similar into groups that can then be all processed within one cell and using one similar sequence. This reduces the total time needed to change between products and in turn eradicates production in bulk. Setting up a one process flow requires companies to identify the various equipment required to manufacture a given product together within one area of production. This is contrary to the traditional methods of production whereby only products that are similar can be put in the same production area (Johnson & Wemmerlov, 2004, 281). The batch and queue set-up allows for products to be processed under particular equipment to be taken to the specific area where that equipment is placed. Processing is in this case done in batches, a process that most often results into delays in transport and even in batching. A one piece product flow allows for the transfer of products from one machine to the other within the same line of production in a smooth flow. This in turn helps in reducing batching and transport delays (Pintelon, 2006, 13).
The above described one piece product flow can be regarded as a work cell. A work cell is basically a group of work stations and equipment put together in one area to allow for a give product or a collection of related products to be fully processed from start to the end. This can in short be regarded as a mini line of production that is self contained and that serves a group of related products undergoing similar processes of production. Cellular manufacturing entails the utilization of work cells; a process that gave it its name. Large organizations which deal with a wide range of products can thus be re-organized using this technique such that workers are divided into specific specialized cells or groups which deliver a specific complete product. With sufficient amounts of products being available, the use of work cells has been found to be an effective way through which fast and efficient processes of manufacturing can be attained. The smooth flow of production materials in this modern technique of manufacturing makes it able to ensure timely production of products. In this method, once a product has been done within a certain station/cell, it requires no further processing as it is a complete product. This being the case, all inventories are processed in all stations of productions thus preventing clogging of fixed inventories. None moving or fixed inventories cannot in any way generate revenue despite having incurred a certain amount of production costs hence are a huge drawback to successful gaining of expected profits.
Cellular Manufacturing helps in identifying the various problems that may occur within the production process as any defects in products are identified earlier enough than if the products are processed in bulks. The pull system is an effective process through which Cellular Manufacturing can be able to obtain timely production. By use of this technique both materials and subsequent inventories are pulled from the previous station making the work more efficient. The consumer can in this case be the provider of the pull making the system an efficient way through which products manufactured are those the meet the very needs of the customers and that therefore enhance customer satisfaction. This in turn ensures that all products are sold out and that there is no wastage.
To ensure that the technique of Cellular Manufacturing is effectively functional, bottlenecks have to be addressed. This is mainly done by creating a balance between equipment capacities. The existence of bottlenecks will result into underutilization of high capacity equipment. Creating a balance between capacities entails selecting equipment that is of the right size and that they are a match to each other as well as connecting smaller or 2 capacity equipment to one that is larger.
Challenges in the Process the of Manufacturing
This mode of operation calls for massive changes in the way the relevant stakeholders take the manufacturing process. From manufacture of large amounts, the organization has got to change to small consignments. More willingly than having large security inventories which act to cushion demand, organizations must keep hold of low heights of ‘in-process’ bits and pieces.
Processes must be well-organized and dependable to avoid imperfections. It hence becomes possible to curtail the way people and the produced materials move in the work space. All this, consecutively, can assist in getting rid of the waiting instance of the material in production, the people, and lastly the paraphernalia (Monden, 1994).
From a managerial perspective, the implementation of Lean manufacturing engrosses many changes. Structural changes are mainly required, in view of the fact that work needs to be well thought-out around product families as an alternative to functional areas. The labor force has to change from functional partitions into ‘cells’ where each cell is held responsible for the complete manufacturing of a given product. This brings in the concept of cellular manufacturing. This requires a labor force that has the ability that is required to do more than a single specialized task thus the need for a multi-skilled labor force. In addition to this the workers who in this case possess many skills are required to practice team work which should be directed to fit in an ideal environment. They should remain focused on the right way of achieving their objectives and in this way struggle to be perfect.
At times, it is so hard to make these changes a reality. When an organization needs to make some changes in the workforce in terms of skills and groups, there is bound to be tension in the organization. Shifting into the realm of multi-skilling can also generate opposition in the workers. Although the advocates of Lean manufacturing maintain that these changes result in an developed and engaging working surroundings, studies show the method can be demanding in many ways to organizations. Areas which might be bring in some confusion are: –
- Change over into teams,
- Development of teams that possess specific skills,
- Self governance in the teams with workers assuming different roles
- Continuity in development.
Importance of Working in Teams
When shifting to cellular manufacturing, teamwork is a basic necessity to this study. Promotion of cooperation was found to be a basic condition for successful accomplishment of JIT course and eminence (McLachlin, 1997). The significance of successful cooperation has been established by (Banker, et al. 1996, 868), in a quantitative case study. The authors weighted against production, value, and labor productivity of the workers before and subsequent to the time when they were separated into teams. The most unified team presented with the utmost increase in all the three measures of presentation, whereas the group with the majority conflicts did not demonstrate any performance enhancement. The third group in the study was between the two limits both in provisions of team affiliation and in requisites of performance. This study gives you an idea about the significance of successful team associations to its operational benefits.
Team Social Perceptions
The different personal perceptions by members of a given team are the common source of problems when it comes to teamwork. Members of the cells have a common problem of having come from previous conditions which were solitary or at times not so friendly. Integrating the individuals into a single operating group can result in disagreement, as portrayed by Cheddy et al. (1994) in Humphreys, McAleer, and McIvor (1999). This case in point describes some interaction connecting both an engineer and an operator. Both of them were previously associates of different managerial units. The two citizens were made affiliates of the same group; however their predetermined ideas on the subject of one another interfere with potential teamwork. The engineer observes operator’s issues as a threat to his influence, whereas the machinist perceives the protective response as being patronizing and offensive. This instance shows the significance of socialization for the incorporation of the various group members. This is unswerving with the findings of Yauch and Steuel (2002), who said that rigid grouping boundaries are a managerial factor obstructing the conversion to the realm of cellular manufacturing. This study will be expounded on in the following sections.
Workers Perspective
From the workers viewpoint, “teamwork” was positioned as one of the vital human related issue in companies that are based on cellular manufacturing (Fraser, Harris, & Luong, 2007). It was established that the more knowledgeable workers (those who have worked for more than three years) asserted to have additional human related predicaments than they had technical problems. This was elucidated by new employees not completely acquiring the operational and also the technical problems, as a result perceiving these tests as the more ubiquitous ones. The end results of this study demonstrate that while the region of proficiency becomes an area of ease with time and knowledge, the area of individual relations remains challenging and consequently needs to be tackled (Nakamura, et al., 1998, 237). These studies demonstrate the significance of harmonious cooperation, both from operational and also and importantly from a workers viewpoint. According to Delbridge (1998), a lot of blame has been imposed on the process of lean manufacturing due to its tendency to allow for time wastage through idleness and lack of redundancy. This has been exposed to limit the likelihood of constructive individual interactions and thus unenthusiastically impact relations between the workers. Further study on the mainly effectual methods to smooth the progress of successful cooperation in this setting is required.
Shifting Into Groups
There are various impacts which come along with the shift from former methods to groups. While work groups are created consecutively to influence collaboration amid different professionals, communal and human allied issues can decrease teams’ efficiency. The social surface of work teams is significant both for operational routine and for maintaining the benefits of lean manufacturing. It is consequently critical to tackle communication to achieve a well-designed social surroundings (McLachlin, 1997, 280).
Multi Skilled Work-Force
Considering the fact that most of the old manufacturing plants have had associations with some workers in the past, it tends to be more difficult to implement changes in such areas as compared to newer plants where workers would meet the systems anew. This calls for a lot of care in laying out the strategy.
It is also significant to revise inducements’ schemes, so they reproduce the priority of cross functionality in training, in addition to cross functional labor. Some of the incentives which can be offered to the workers can be a wide range of monetary gains.
Leading by illustration is another method to promote a multi skilled labor force. Executives who possess multiple skills can also act as leading examples for their juniors.
Self Directed Teams
Employees’ expectations of unfairness as a consequence of shifting into labor teams (rather than prejudice itself) can be a starting place of employee conflict to this alteration. Providing sensible explanations for these transforms was not established to be enough to alleviate these apprehensions. Such apprehensions and expectations require recognizing in advance and consequently addressing before and for the duration of change accomplishment.
Continuous Improvement
Certain organizational issues need to be recognized and concentrated on in order to achieve incessant improvement state of mind. The factors are: under-organizing, dodging, lack of common respect and trust, self-satisfaction, rigid assemblage boundaries, and over prominence on foundation activities.
Contrary, there are some factors which needs a lot of nurturing so as to ensure that people stay aware of the changes. They include configuration of the finances so as to keep in line with the changes, improved focus on the needs of the client and to always take the crises as points for future improvement. Maintenance applications also need to be adjusted, to align with manufacture needs, in addition to provide extra source of recovered performance (Mello & Stank, 2005, 549).
Automotive Exhaust Pipe Manufacture
Basing this argument on the discussions in this paper, it is evident that the manufacture of automotive exhaust pipes lies within the cellular manufacturing realm. According to the data gathered in the course of this research, the process of lean manufacturing swerves off from functional manufacturing due to insistence on skilled cells. Skilled cells are groups of workers who have been grouped together in teams and are required to work in teams, armed with a certain range of skills so as to be able to manufacture a certain complete product (Fraser, et al, 721).
An automotive exhaust pipe is only one part of the automotive industry that is independent of all the other parts. This means that it is possible to dedicate one part of the car manufacturing industry to production of exhaust pipes only. This is supported by the fact that the pipes are single complete entities.
Having this in mind, it goes without saying that the best method that would be used to solve this dilemma is the use of cellular manufacturing. When workers are put in a group and dedicated to this task, they are then required to have all the adequate knowledge required in automotive pipe’s manufacture. This is a very effective method if the methods discussed which ensures that all the workers get the required skills are followed. Some of the tactics are the use of incentives and such.
If the workers get totally oriented to this field, the end result of increased efficiency in the industry is achieved. Once the departments have been compartmentalized to be able to achieve different portions of a product to completion, all the required parts will have been excellently and skillfully produced at the end of the day.
Conclusion
This paper has discovered the factors which have a say to the successful and well-organized implementation of Lean manufacturing through the use of cellular manufacturing. Companies which take on Lean production will require implementing an organizational and enlightening change for the duration of the process. This alteration will have quantifiable and beyond measure effects on some of the staff. Some of the actions that need to be put into practice and their effects are hereby discussed (McCarter, 2005, 200).
Most of the work which is needed to comprehend the changes is not yet done. Much more study is needed to further comprehensively take into custody and give details all of the differences involved in supply chain organization, especially when managerial change is engaged.
The subsequent questions for further research are recommended:
- What methods can be applied effectively to set up harmonious labor teams in organizations accepting lean manufacturing?
- How do the company’s era and unionization position influence the implementation of lean practices?
- What are the responses of managers to configuration of self-directed labor teams?
- How can the responsibility change in self directed labor teams be held up in an organization taking on lean manufacturing?
- How do cross skilled executives influence the process and presentation of lean organizations?
- Can inducements be used to give confidence cross-functional labor, and how?
- What other managerial factors hold up the implementation of lean manufacturing, besides client focus and aligned inducement scheme?
- How are these managerial issues dissimilar in the lean circumstance?
Although lean manufacturing is viewed as an ‘old-fashioned’ idea by some of the common industries, the acceptance of lean practices will remain to be relevant (Delbridge, 1998). This is due to the ease of management and the efficiency which comes along with it resulting from the multi skilling efforts. With all conditions put in place, the practice of lean manufacturing will be widely practiced in most areas.
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