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Lean Manufacturing Tools and Techniques

Since the Toyata Production System became known to the manufacturing sector, a number of tools and techniques have been developed to move towards lean manufacturing. The most widely accepted of these have been explained subsequently. Indian firms can choose from the entire gamut of practices depending on their specific needs.

Cellular Manufacturing

Cellular Manufacturing is one of the corner stones when one has to become lean. It is a concept that increases the mix of products with minimum waste possible. A cell consists of equipment and work-stations that are arranged in an order that maintains a smooth flow of materials and components of a process. It also has assigned operators who are qualified and trained to work in that cell.

Arranging people and equipment into cells has a great advantage in terms of achieving lean goals. One of the advantages of cells is the one-piece flow concept, which states that each product moves through a process one unit at a time without sudden interruption, at a pace determined by the customer's need. Extending the product mix is another advantage of cellular manufacturing.

When the customer demands a high variety of products as well as faster delivery rates, it is important to have flexibility in the process to accommodate their needs. This flexibility can be achieved through grouping similar products into families that can process on the same equipment in the same sequence. This will also shorten the time required for changeover between products, which will encourage production in smaller lots. Other benefits associated with cellular manufacturing include: -

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* Contributed by -
Karthik Nagarajan & Manan Vansola,
Faculty of Management Studies,
University of Delhi.