ABSTRACT
In a typical high-mix low-volume manufacturing facility, such as a machine shop, forge shop, fabrication shop, and mold-making shop, there is a very high probability that they have a Functional Layout. High-mix low-volume manufacturers, especially job shops, are ill-advised to undertake a complete reorganization into a Cellular Layout based on specific part families, unless the customer base, part mix, and order volumes for the cells will be stable in the long term. This chapter describes a variety of Hybrid Cellular Layouts that exploit the knowledge of families of parts with similar/identical routings and avoid total reorganization of the existing Functional Layout into a Cellular Layout. However, during the layout design phase, creative strategies are used to place the shared machines as if they had been retained in functional departments. High-mix low-volume manufacturers, especially job shops, ought not to undertake a complete reorganization into a Cellular Layout where each cell is designed to make a specific part family.
