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1998 | Buch

Group Technology & Cellular Manufacturing: Updated Perspectives Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing

A State-of-the-Art Synthesis of Research and Practice

herausgegeben von: Nallan C. Suresh, John M. Kay

Verlag: Springer US

Enthalten in: Professional Book Archive

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Über dieses Buch

Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing (GT/CM) have been widely-researched areas in the past 15 years and much progress has been made in all branches of GT/CM. Resulting from this research activity has been a proliferation of techniques for part-machine grouping, engineering data bases, expert system-based design methods for identifying part families, new analytical and simulation tools for evaluating performance of cells, new types of cell incorporating robotics and flexible automation, team-based approaches for organizing the work force and much more; however, the field lacks a careful compilation of this research and its outcomes. The editors of this book have commissioned leading researchers and implementers to prepare specific treatments of topics for their special areas of expertise in this broad-based philosophy of manufacturing. The editors have sought to be global both in coverage of topic matters and contributors.
Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing addresses the needs and interests of three groups of individuals in the manufacturing field: academic researchers, industry practitioners, and students. (1) The book provides an up-to-date perspective, incorporating the advances made in GT/CM during the past 15 years. As a natural extension to this research, it synthesizes the latest industry practices and outcomes to guide research to greater real-world relevance. (2) The book makes clear the foundations of GT/CM from the core elements of new developments which are aimed at reducing developmental and manufacturing lead times, costs, and at improving business quality and performance. (3) Finally, the book can be used as a textbook for graduate students in engineering and management for studying the field of Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Introduction

A. Group Technology & Cellular Manufacturing: Updated Perspectives
Abstract
Since the human race first decided to specialize, make goods, and trade goods for other goods, there has been competition in terms of not only the technology used but also the organizational aspects of production. Although group technology (GT) sounds like it should be the former, it is essentially a system of production organization that allows firms to compete by minimizing work-in-progress, minimizing lead times, and minimizing costs while still producing a wide range of products. By combining different machines, equipment and personnel into a group or cell, total responsibility for making a set of parts can be delegated to the group. The traditional method has been to arrange a factory such that all similar machines and corresponding skilled personnel are located together. This has resulted in complex job routings inside the facility.
N. C. Suresh, J. M. Kay

Product Design

B1. Group Technology, Concurrent Engineering and Design for Manufacture and Assembly
Abstract
Group technology (GT) is an approach to organizing and rationalizing various aspects of design and manufacturing, and it is applicable to any engineering industry where small-batch, variety production is used (Gallagher and Knight 1975; Gallagher and Knight 1986; Burbidge 1975; Ham, Hitomi and Yoshida 1985). Group Technology is a manufacturing philosophy with far reaching implications. The basic concept is relatively simple: identify and bring together items that are related by similar attributes, and then take advantage of similarities to develop simplified and rationalized procedures in all stages of design and manufacture. The term similar attributes may mean similar design features, similar production requirements, similar inspection requirements, etc. The principles of GT can be applied in all facets of a company: in design, through standardization and variety reduction, in cost and time estimating and work planning; as the basis for computer-aided process planning (CAPP) systems; in production, as the underlying principle of cellular manufacturing systems, etc. Group Technology forms the basis for the development of flexible automation and computer integrated manufacturing.
W. A. Knight
B2. Classification and Coding Systems: Industry Implementation & Non-Traditional Applications
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to explore group technology (GT) identification and coding concepts studied and applied in a non-traditional manner. Accordingly, the discussion is limited to innovations in techniques and/or technologies associated with coding systems, and innovations in the focus of retrieval, with respect to the information used for encoding and retrieval, or the population of entities being retrieved.
C. T. Mosier
B3. Part Family Identification: The Role of Engineering Data Bases
Abstract
Group Technology (GT) is a manufacturing philosophy designed to simplify and standardize production operations by taking advantage of similarity. Manufacturing performance parameters such as cycle time, quality and costs can be improved by capitalizing on similarities that can be found in such things as workpiece design, assembly methods, purchasing of materials, or tooling designs (Apple 1977).
R. E. Billo, B. Bidanda
B4. Part Family Formation and Classification Using Machine Learning Techniques
Abstract
An ideal tool for successful part family identification, as part of group technology (GT) efforts, should address several important technical issues. First, the tool must have an adequate representation scheme to cover a wide variety of part features, which are necessary for different applications. Second, the tool must be flexible enough to capture a changing array of information because of increasing demand placed by variations in the types of products or new applications. Third, it is desirable to have a tool which can provide a meaningful description of the part groups so those humans can easily interpret and evaluate the groups with respect to different applications.
Y. B. Moon

Process Planning

C1. GT and CAPP: Towards An Integration of Variant and Generative Approaches
Abstract
The goal of reducing process planning efforts for similar parts has been one of the objectives behind group technology (GT) right from inception. Later, however, the method extended its scope and shifted away from process planning, into machine cell formation, part family grouping, cellular manufacturing, etc. Process planning practice, and research, also moved away from group technology. Research in generative process planning shifted from considering families of similar parts into work based on design of individual parts. Application of artificial intelligence methods and CAD/CAM integration also contributed to this split.
D. N. Sormaz
C2. GT and Computer Aided Process Planning: Observations on Past, Present & Future
Abstract
Group technology (GT) seeks to exploit similarities among parts or products for efficiencies in design and manufacturing. Production Flow Analysis (PFA) seeks to exploit similarities in processes. Applications of GT in Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP), and GT and PFA in cellular manufacturing (CM) have produced very significant, and well-publicized productivity improvements compared to traditional methods; yet a vast majority of firms are yet to use them.
J. Nolen, C. Lyman-Cordes

Design of Cellular Layouts: Part-Machine-Labor Grouping

D1. Part-Machine-Labor Grouping: The Problem and Solution Methods
Abstract
It is safe to say that no topic in the cellular manufacturing (CM) field has been as widely researched as has the topic of cell formation. Generally speaking, cell formation is concerned with grouping machines and labor into cells. Once formed, the cells are dedicated to the production of a set of parts that have similar processing requirements called part families.
S. M. Shafer
D2. Design of Manufacturing Cells: PFA Applications in Dutch Industry
Abstract
Cellular manufacturing (CM) can be defined as the grouping of people and processes into specific areas dedicated to the production of a family of parts. There is a growing interest for CM in industry. In the last two decades many firms in the Netherlands as well as in other countries have implemented CM. Though the principle of CM in each firm will be basically the same, there may be considerable differences with respect to the characteristics of the cells. Table 1 presents seven firms in the Netherlands which have completely cellularized their manufacturing departments (see Slomp, Molleman and Gaalman 1993). As can be seen, these departments differ in terms of product types, the number of employees, number of manufacturing cells, number of different part types, and the number of bottleneck parts (i.e., parts that have to be manufactured in more than one cell). It is furthermore informative to know that in cases A, B, D, E, and F the manufacturing activities are based on forecast and planning. In cases C and G the manufacturing activities are customer order driven. This distinction has an impact on the performance objectives in each case. Table 2 lists some main characteristics of the manufacturing cells of the firms. These illustrate the variety of cells with respect to the number of machines, the type of material flow, the degree of automation, and the nature of the bottleneck capacity.
J. Slomp
D3. Artificial Neural Networks and Fuzzy Models: New Tools for Part-Machine Grouping
Abstract
This chapter focuses on two, relatively new approaches for the part-machine grouping problem: artificial neural networks and fuzzy models. Neural networks and fuzzy models were introduced in group technology (GT) literature during 1990s to overcome some of the limitations of conventional approaches.
V. Venugopal
D4. Cell Formation Using Genetic Algorithms
Abstract
With increasing computer speeds, researchers are increasingly applying artificial and computational intelligence techniques to the cellular manufacturing problem (i.e., neural networks, fiizzy reasoning, evolutionary techniques, etc.). Many of these methods are patterned after non-hierarchical clustering methods, mathematical programming techniques, array-based clustering methods, etc. (Joines, Culbreth and King 1996b). However, they offer several advantages over traditional cell formation methods. Fuzzy and neural systems are convenient and efficient means of modeling complex systems by simulating the approximate reasoning of humans and the learning capability of the brain (Joines et al. 1996b).
J. A. Joines, R. E. King, C. T. Culbreth
D5. A Bi-Chromosome Genetic Algorithm For Minimizing Intercell and Intracell Moves
Abstract
In the ideal case, cell design produces perfectly independent machine cells. That is, all operations of parts in a part family are completed within a single machine cell. However, the ideal case is rarely realized in practice. Very often, some of the parts in a part family have to move between machine cells to use machines in different cells. Consequently, the degree of machine cell independence is reduced by intercell moves.
C. H. Cheng, W. H. Lee, J. Miltenburg

Design of Cellular Layouts: Use of Analytical and Simulation Models

E1. Design / Analysis of Manufacturing Systems: A Business Process Approach
Abstract
Manufacturing has gone through periods of great changes time and again. New materials, new information and production technologies, new planning and control techniques, and new bases for competition have all contributed to these changes. In recent years, global competition, more demanding customers, economic liberalization, more stringent regulations on environment, emergence of common markets, disintegration of large States, etc. have added to the complexity of managing manufacturing firms. To address these new complexities, computer aided automation, flexibility management, strategic alliances, management of end-to-end business processes, especially supply chain and new product development processes, are particularly important.
N. Viswanadham, Y. Narahari, N. R. S. Raghavan
E2. Cellular Manufacturing Feasibility at Ingersoll Cutting Tool Co.
Abstract
Ingersoll Cutting Tool Company (ICTC) of Rockford, Illinois, USA is a manufacturer and supplier of metal cutting tools and tool inserts to industrial customers. The company had been experiencing growth rates over the last few years substantially higher than the average rate for the industry, as reported by the United States Cutting Tool Institute. ICTC’s order receipt to product shipment lead times were shorter than most other firms in the industry and estimated to range from 5 to 20 weeks depending on cutter type. However, demands from key customers, as well as competitive pressures, required that lead times be reduced if ICTC was to maintain or increase the strength of its market position. Although some cost pressures had been felt as a result of new firms entering the industry, response time was still the main competitive priority (especially for made-to-order items). The purpose of this study was to analyze the entire cutter production system to determine changes needed to achieve a 40-50% reduction in delivery lead times.
D. J. Johnson, U. Wemmerlöv
E3. A Decision Support System for Designing Assembly Cells in Apparel Industry
Abstract
Apparel industries in the Western World have suffered decline over the past few decades; a trend which has been partially attributed to cheap imports and an unwillingness to change in a market that has become increasingly customer-oriented. Fashion-led markets necessitate good design, short lead times, flexibility, and consistent high quality. The major strategic response to this challenge has been to participate in quick response (QR) programs that are reactive to consumer demand (Hunter 1990). The problem for implementing QR is that quick response is a convenient term to communicate direction without explicitly specifying the necessary actions (Tyler 1989). This has led to a variety of approaches to implementation.
M. Kalta, T. Lowe, D. Tyler
E4. Evaluation of Functional and Cellular Layouts Through Simulation and Analytical Models
Abstract
The relative performance of functional layout (FL) and cellular layout (CL) has been analyzed using computer simulation models since early 1970s, and through analytical models mostly since late 1980s. Simulation studies constitute the major portion of the work in this area, due to the complexity and analytical intractability of both functional and cellular manufacturing systems. Analytical modeling has barely begun, and the few models developed so far have been mainly aimed at resolving some of the paradoxical findings from simulation-based research.
N. C. Suresh

Operation Planning and Control

F1. Production Planning and Control Systems For Cellular Manufacturing
Abstract
The performance of a production system depends not only on the quality of the decomposition of the system into cells and departments, but also on the quality of the production planning and control system that is being used. The design of the production planning and control system should meet the requirements of the production system. The goodness of fit between both systems is also of significant importance to take full advantage of the benefits of cellular manufacturing.
J. Riezebos, G. Shambu, N. C. Suresh
F2. Period Batch Control Systems For Cellular Manufacturing
Abstract
Period Batch Control (PBC) is a manufacturing planning and control (MPC) system that has been advocated for cellular manufacturing (CM) by Burbidge (1975). PBC appears attractive for CM many reasons. It matches the stage-like structure of CM, has been supported by a number of authors as appropriate for CM, and has been implemented successfully in some instances. While the use of PBC has not been widespread, this approach has continued to attract interest in recent years.
D. C. Steele
F3. Scheduling Rules For Cellular Manufacturing
Abstract
Cellular manufacturing systems should be effectively managed to augment their advantages while some of their disadvantages minimized. Given an appropriate classification of parts into families and machines into cells, many researchers believe that utilizing scheduling procedures which capitalize on the unique features of cellular manufacturing is essential to counter its disadvantages and enhance the likelihood of successful implementation (e.g., Flynn 1987; Mahmoodi, Dooley and Starr 1990a).
F. Mahmoodi, C. T. Mosier
F4. Operation and Control of Cellular Systems at Avon Lomalinda, Puerto Rico
Abstract
This chapter briefly discusses various projects undertaken in Avon Lomalinda Inc., a jewelry manufacturing company located in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico from March 1990 to December 1995. In particular, we focus on cell scheduling, loading, and knowledge-based loading projects. During these six years, the company went through several changes in administration, products, processes, and manufacturing facilities. Often, various projects were carried out under different conditions in terms of number of products, product types, number of manufacturing cells, automation level and the emphasis by the top management. Despite the continuous changes in the company priorities, the top management always supported our efforts and allowed us to push the limits. The issues, concerns and the proposed solutions are described under the original circumstances when they were addressed.
G. A. Süer
F5. Classification and Analysis of Operating Policies for Manufacturing Cells
Abstract
While the problem of forming manufacturing cells has received considerable attention in the literature (see chapter Dl), the development of guidelines for operating cells once they are constructed has not received as much attention. Nevertheless, some research has appeared on the impact of worker cross-training, cell loading rules, the use of sublot transfers, queue dispatching rules, and the assignment of workers to tasks. In this chapter we summarize the findings to date and propose important directions for future research.
R. G. Askin, A. Iyer

Cells and Flexible Automation

G. Cells and Flexible Automation: A History and Synergistic Application
Abstract
Flexible manufacturing equipment is the technological union of computer integration and machine tools. Flexible manufacturing is commonly understood as offering certain types of ‘flexibility’ for manufacturers to mitigate or manage the significant uncertainty they may encounter. For example, with this investment they are better able to respond to customers’ needs and desires in product design, product availability, and adaptation for successive design of part types. Such promises have resulted in widespread investment in these technologies in industry and significant investment in research in academia. The competitive pressures in global manufacturing markets, primarily during the 1980’s, drove companies to improve product quality and ‘flexibility’ without sacrificing operational cost reductions already achieved in many industries. The use of flexible automation was suggested as one way to answer these pressures, even though these new technologies were more expensive. However, it soon became clear that mere capital investment was insufficient to satisfy these challenges: significant technical and managerial issues needed to be resolved before the full benefits of these technologies could be attained.
K. E. Stecke, R. P. Parker

Human Factors in Cellular Manufacturing

H1. Human Resource Management and Cellular Manufacturing
Abstract
In recent years, cellular manufacturing (CM) has come to be linked with a variety of different manufacturing philosophies and human resource management (HRM) strategies such as Japanese ‘lean production’ methods (Schonberger 1992), European socio-technical ‘production island’ philosophies (Brodner 1989) as well as with other new manufacturing strategies such as the ‘fractal’ factories (Warnecke 1993).
R. Badham, I. P. McLoughlin, D. A. Buchanan
H2. Teams and Cellular Manufacturing: The Role of The Team Leader
Abstract
This chapter discusses the role of the team leader within group technology, and describes an action research study which tested a new approach to making the transition from scientific management to lean production Group Technology (GT) within a UK manufacturing facility. The approach focused on a balance between social and technical change, and involved a strong role for the team leader.
P. D. Carr, G. Groves

Integranted Implementation Experiences

I1. Group Technology-Based Improvements In Danish Industry
Abstract
Group Technology (GT) has played an important role in realizing significant improvements in Danish industrial enterprises for more than 25 years. The main focus of GT implementation has been on the formation of production groups as a means for simplifying production flows and management tasks. Marked improvements have been achieved in terms of reduction of throughput times, often to less than one-fifth, productivity improvements, often by a factor of two, better quality, and improved worker motivation and participation.
J. O. Riis, H. Mikkelsen
I2. Benefits From PFA In Two Make-To-Order Manufacturing Firms in Finland
Abstract
This chapter demonstrates the benefits of applying Production Flow Analysis (PFA) to redesign factory organization and reduce setups in two make-to-order manufacturing environments in Finland. In the first, one-of-a-kind manufacturing operation, the primary benefits were improved change management and increased capacity. In the second, subcontractor case, the main benefit was to launch a design for manufacturability process with key customers. In the first case Group Analysis and Tooling Analysis was used together. In the second case only Tooling Analysis was applied.
S. Karvonen, J. Holmström, E. Eloranta
I3. Cellular Manufacturing at Zanussi-Electrolux Plant, Susegana, Italy
Abstract
This chapter describes a case study of a firm in Italy which has completely transformed its production processes (without, incidentally, stopping production even for a single day) and which has undergone a radical organizational transformation and dramatic changes in attitudes, beliefs and working methods.
R. Panizzolo
I4. Microsoft Ireland: Realigning Plant, Sales, Key Suppliers By Customer Family
Abstract
Microsoft grew exponentially in the 1980s to become the world’s leading software company. Its market value of $21 billion exceeded even that of General Motors. Founded by Chairman Bill Gates in 1975, Microsoft emerged in the 1990s, according to Business Week, “as clearly the most important single force in the entire computer industry.”
R. J. Schonberger
I5. Group Technology at John Deere: Production Planning and Control Issues
Abstract
Production Planning and Control (PPC) continues to be a fascinating area of study. With the introduction and implementation of Group Technology (GT), Just-in-Time (JIT) methods and the wide-spread use of Material Requirements Planning (MRP), there is a wide variety of potential interactions available to study from master production scheduling to the shop floor execution.
M. S. Spencer
I6. Design and Reengineering of Production Systems: Yugoslavian (IISE) Approaches
Abstract
Satisfying customer needs with respect to product quality, price and delivery terms forms a basic goal of manufacturing. Analysis of work processes in real systems, conducted over a long period of time (1965-1978) at Institute for Industrial Systems Engineering (USE) in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia consistently showed a lack of effectiveness with respect to quality, lead time and costs, in a time of rapid technology development, fast growth of competition, unstable markets, economic uncertainty and increasing social demands.
D. Zelenović, I. Cosić, R. Maksimović
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing
herausgegeben von
Nallan C. Suresh
John M. Kay
Copyright-Jahr
1998
Verlag
Springer US
Electronic ISBN
978-1-4615-5467-7
Print ISBN
978-1-4613-7497-8
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5467-7