ABSTRACT
Cellular manufacturing is a lean manufacturing approach that helps companies builds a variety of products for their customers with as little waste as possible. Arranging people and equipment into manufacturing cells helps companies achieve two important goals of lean manufacturing—one-piece flow and high-variety production. One-piece flow is the state that exists when products move through a manufacturing process one unit at a time, at a rate determined by the needs of the customer. Promoting one-piece flow through cellular manufacturing can help make company more competitive. Arranging people and equipment into cells helps companies achieve one-piece flow and high-variety production. A process is a continuous flow in which raw materials are converted to finished products in a series of operations. Cellular manufacturing helps by focusing on the material going through the process, not just on the equipment for each operation. Cellular manufacturing also helps as a company employee.
