ABSTRACT
Job Shop Lean was developed to adapt and enhance Lean for implementation in high-mix low-volume (HMLV) manufacturing environments, especially job shops. One of the core requirements of Job Shop Lean is the use of Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing to reduce and simplify shop floor management in any job shop. An assembly line and a job shop are radically different manufacturing systems. An assembly line is an low-mix high-volume manufacturing system. A job shop is an HMLV manufacturing system. Processes like heat treatment, electro-plating, or welding could never be co-located within a cell that has CNC machines! Maybe Deburring could be located in a corner of the cell if it was contained within a sound-proofed chamber having a dust collection system. In some cases, right-sizing could potentially pose a financial challenge.
