Cellular manufacturing

As a production island (English: production cell) is called a possibility of internal flexibility in production logistics. It is a working system that is structured according to the products to be manufactured and not by tasks. Typically all of the resources needed for a family of parts are integrated into a production island.

In this procedure, principle places a team of people here ready as possible components or finished products. A segmentation of the production process in many monotonous work steps is thus prevented. There is no sorting by the vicarious principle, the order of processing will be decided flexibly.

The result of the combination of flexible production organization and semi-autonomous work groups, for example, an assembly cell or a product island. In their product parts or final products from a given starting material as completely manufactured or assembled. The necessary resources are summarized in the production island physically and organizationally. The field of activity of the group employed there shall pay the actual production task mostly following additional features: largely self- management of labor and cooperation processes associated with planning, decision and control functions as well as simple maintenance tasks.

The core idea

By manufacturing the islands Taylorist principle of the separation plan forming and executing activities is submitted by waiving a strict, predefined division of labor. The process of production is carried out by a far-reaching self- control. In this way, the motivation and responsibility of the employee to be increased (see also: work structuring). This one tends to be poorer means of production capacity utilization than higher flexibility and personnel utilization is taken into account.

Selection of manufacturing cells

In the selection of manufacturing cells are various, partly statistical analysis method application, such as cluster analysis or Sankey diagram. In addition, criteria such as the volume of orders, many variants, processing times and production costs incurred in identifying potential production islands are taken into account.

Synchronization

Usually two types of synchronization of information and material flow can be distinguished in production islands: on the one hand, the pick-up principle, on the other hand the bring principle ( see also: Push- pull strategy ). For planning in MRP systems, the island is its own capacity, which facilitates the design and reduces the central planning effort, since short-term planning is moved to the island.