This article is about cell production. There are several different ways in which goods and services can be produced. The typical production methods in the modern business include:
- Job production.
- Batch production.
- Mass production (flow production).
- Mass customization.
- Cell production.
What is cell production?
Cell production, or cellular manufacturing, adapts the assembly line by splitting the entire flow production process into a number of self-contained units or product-focused work groups with full autonomy. The tasks of mass production – broken up by teams of workers responsible for parts of the line – are completed by cells with each cell being responsible for completing their part of the overall production process. The business will operate like having many plants-within-a-factory, each starting with raw materials and ending with finished product with all operations being performed inside the cell.
Main product features: Complex products or products that have a high number of variants produced both in high-volume and low-volume. Examples include:
- Automotive components: engines, transmissions, chassis, etc.
- Electronic devices: smartphones, computers, televisions, etc.
- Food and beverage products: bread, cookies, soda, etc.
- Furniture: cabinets, tables, chairs, etc.
- Machinery: machine tools, engines, pumps, etc.
- Medical devices: pacemakers, stents, artificial joints, etc.
- Metalworking products: castings, forgings, machined parts, etc.
- Plastic products: injection molded parts, blow molded parts, extruded parts, etc.
- Textile products: clothing, towels, bedding, etc.
Suitability: Businesses manufacturing large quantities of advanced products requiring similar operations being able to produce a new product or product variant. Independent groups of multi-skilled workers can complete the whole unit of work in the production process. More suitable for businesses with lower demand than those using traditional mass production (flow production) methods.
Examples of products: Assembling cars and trucks, assembling electronic devices such as smartphones, computers and televisions, producing packaged food and beverage products such as bread, cookies and soda.
Level of demand: The optimal demand level will vary depending on the specific product, but it should be sufficient to justify the costs of implementing and operating a cell production system. In general, a demand of at least 5,000 units per year is considered to be necessary to justify cell production. A high-value product may be able to justify cell production at lower demand level while a low-value product may be able justify cell production at higher demand level.
Essential requirements: Involves expensive capital equipment with high set-up costs. a certain level of demand is required to make production efficient and profitable.
Set-up time: The time it takes to prepare a cell to produce a new product or product variant includes changing tooling, adjusting machine settings, and loading materials. Set-up time can be a significant factor in the overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness of cell production. Here are examples of set-up time for popular products:
- Toyota Camry engine cell: 30 minutes
- Nike Air Jordan sneaker cell: 15 minutes
- Ford F-150 pickup truck cell: 60 minutes
- Apple iPhone cell: 1 hour
- Coca-Cola can cell: 30 minutes
- IKEA cabinet cell: 45 minutes
- Haas VF-2 machining center cell: 2 hours
- Medtronic pacemaker cell: 1 hour
- Stryker artificial knee cell: 1.5 hours
- 3M Post-it note cell: 45 minutes
- Levi’s 501 jeans cell: 30 minutes
Cost per unit: Unit cost can be reduced by increased productivity resulting from cooperation and higher motivation as well as by reduced labor costs, overhead costs and equipment costs. However, not as low as in mass production (flow production) because capacity utilization of machinery is lower increasing average fixed costs.
Capital (machinery): Cell production is rather capital-intensive. Each cell includes specialized groups of machines and materials given responsibility for completing a part of the overall production process. So, the business has to spend a lot of money buying, installing, maintaining and servicing new machinery and equipment for each cell.
Labor (workers): Each cell includes multi-skilled staff with responsibility and autonomy for completing the whole unit of work. Each team has workers with different skills needed to complete their task. Each person can do all the tasks within their assigned group, thus creating opportunities for job rotation. This reduces boredom and increases motivation.
Production time: Each cell has its own responsibility for organizing the team’s work schedules and covering for teammates who are absent. The cycle time in cell production is typically calculated by dividing the total time it takes to complete a production order by the number of units produced in that order. For example, if it takes 10 minutes to produce 100 units of a product, then the cycle time would be 0.1 minutes per unit. Stopping production for a certain period of time is easier in cell production comparing with mass production (flow production) because each cell is responsible for completing the whole unit of work in the production process.
Stock: Cells are typically designed to produce products using Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory management method; hence cell production can help to reduce inventory costs by reducing the need to carry large amounts of inventory.
Quantity produced: Output is lower than in mass production (flow production). While cells are independent of one another, they still need to rely on each other to ensure that final production targets are met.
Quality: Cell production can greatly improve quality as each cell is does its own quality checks. Team members have collective responsibility for the quality of the items that they pass to the next group in the production process. This accountability for quality assurance combined with Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory management can improve quality standards.
Advantages of cell production:
- Increased productivity. Cell production can lead to increased productivity due to reduced material handling, shorter lead times and improved worker efficiency. When each team operates as a small and cohesive industrial unit, there will be more autonomy in decision-making regarding selecting own leader, how and when to rotate tasks and how to arrange breaks. Specialization coupled with good team spirit usually leads to higher efficiency within each cell.
- Improved quality. Cells are more focused on producing a specific product, which can lead to improved quality. Workers in cells are also more likely to take ownership of their work, which can further improve quality. This can create an atmosphere of employee involvement leading to continuous improvement.
- Greater flexibility. Cell production is more flexible than traditional production methods, as cells can be easily reconfigured to produce new products. This can be a major advantage for companies that operate in dynamic markets.
- Reduced waste. Cell production can lead to reduced waste, as cells are more focused on producing products that are actually needed. This can save companies money and reduce their environmental impact.
- Improved employee morale. Cell production can lead to improved employee morale, as workers have more responsibility. This can lead to increased productivity and reduced turnover as each team is likely to see a finished product – which is then passed on in the production process – creating a sense of achievement.
Disadvantages of cell production:
- Increased setup time. It can take more time to set up a cell production system than a traditional production system. This is because cells require more planning and coordination.
- Increased training requirements. Cell production requires more training for workers, as they need to be able to operate multiple machines. This can be an additional cost for companies.
- Vulnerability to production bottlenecks. Cell production is more vulnerable to production bottlenecks than traditional production methods. This is because if one machine in a cell breaks down, the entire cell can be shut down.
- Limited flexibility. Cell production is not as flexible as some other production methods, such as job shop production. This is because cells are designed to produce a specific product, and they may not be able to be easily reconfigured to produce other products.
- Conflicts. Conflict may happen between different teams working in different cells which may not be equally productive, especially if there are production delays. This can happen because people working in isolation can become bored which can negatively affect their levels of motivation and productivity. Conflict can also happen between team members especially, if the team leader is ineffective.
Case Study 1: Dr. Martens produces shoes by dividing production workers into individual cells made up of up to 17 people with each team being responsible for its own production, dividing the 39-hour workweek how they wish, organizing work schedules, planning output, meeting order deadlines and quality checks. Each cell does everything apart from the cutting and stitching which is done using mass production (flow production).
TIP: Cell production requires more floor space than traditional production methods.
