Cell Design

© 2008 Gemba Research LLC

 Elements of Good Cell Design

1. Design allows for One Piece Flow

2. Equipment and work stations are close together
3. Product flows from right to left
4. There are no barriers to operator or material flow
5. Raw Materials fed from the outside of the cell by the
material handler
6. Equipment should be right sized
7. Operators are multi-skilled
8. One operator could run the cell
9. Equipment and work stations are easily movable

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 Elements of Good Cell Design
10. All work areas are safe and ergonomic
11. Tools and material are presented at point of use
based on frequency of use and ergonomics
12. Schedule is visual
13. Hour/Daily goals are posted and actual data is
collected
14. Use visual management to manage materials and
tools
15. Metrics and other key performance indicators tracked,
clearly seen
16. Root Cause Corrective Action process is in place
17. Process steps are error proofed - Quality built into the
process

© 2008 Gemba Research LLC

 1. Design for Single Piece Flow
Batch & Queue 1 min. cycle times per process

Lathe Mill Drill

Make 10, Move 10 Make 10, Move 10 Make 10, Move 10

Time to first piece is 21 minutes

Time to complete batch 30 minutes

One-Piece Flow

Lathe Mill Drill

Make 1, Move 1 Make 1, Move 1 Make 1, Move 1

Time to first piece is 3 minutes

Time to complete batch 12 minutes
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2. Equipment & Stations are Close Together

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3. Product Should Flow From Right to Left

Most people are more effective using their

dominant hand. Most people are right-handed.

The right brain processes spatial information with

visual input from the left eye.

Race tracks are counterclockwise for this reason.

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Focused Cell

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 Advantages of U-shaped Cells

 Visual Control - Easy to see the whole process

1
 Linked Processes 2
 Good Information Flow
3
 Shortest Part Travel Distance

 Common Drop-off and Pick-up

4
 Easier to implement Standard Work Sequence
5
 Easier to create multi-skilled workers

 Better Teamwork

14LLC
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4. No Barriers to Operators or Flow

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5. Material is Presented from Outside of the Cell

Entry

Exit
Materials

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6. Equipment Should Be Right Sized

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 7. Operators are Multi-Skilled

Cell Y - Skills Matrix

Manual Wave Mechanical Pack

Colin

Desi

Jeff

Richard

Susan

Tim

In Training Certified Trainer

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 8. Cell Could run with One Operator
Product Flow Operator Flow

D D • Operator does

C 3
C not need to follow
1
1 2 product flow

• Staffing varies

E E based on demand
1 1 B 2 2 B

1
F
1
1 A F 1 A
Output = X units/day Output = 3X units/day

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 Lean Cell
Lean
Cycle Time = 60 Seconds / Cell A
= Walk Path
4 Cells = 1 Mass Line
4 Different Product Type at one time

Parts In Parts In Parts In

7 5 4
8 6 3 2 1

35’ D C A
B

9 11 12 14 15 16 Product Out

10 13
Parts In Parts In

110’

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 The Standard Work Orchestra
Seq. Description of Time Operation Working Time (in seconds)
Seq. Description of Time
No. Operation Man Auto Walk 5 10 15 20 25 30 TT35 40
Seq. Description
Man Auto Walk Time
of
No.
Pick-up, Operation
unload/load, TT
1 cycle start No.
4 10 3 Man Auto Walk
Operation TT

2 Unload/load, cycle start 3 8

6
3 Check quality
10 4 3 5
Unload/load, cycle start, 7
4
11 4 12 5
put down part 4
5 Move Widgit to Fixture 4 3
8 3
35 Move Widgit to Fixture 4 3

86 Insert Screws 10 9
2
97 Put on S/N Label 3 5 10
7 Put on S/N Label 3 5
11 1
48 Put in Bag 3 3
Insert into foam packing
59 material
5 3

6 Put on Label
10 3

7 Pack Unit
11 3 5

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9. Make Equipment Easy to Relocate

Machines

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10. Work Stations are Safe and Ergonomic

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11. Materials and tools are Managed Visually

Tool
Shadow Board

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12. Schedule is Visual

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13. Hour/Daily Goals Posted & Tracked

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14. Tools and Material at Point of Use

Material

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15. Metrics & KPI Tracked, Clearly Seen

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 16. Root Cause Corrective Action process

•PRODUCTION BOARD•Balancer•Date •10/13 •Shift •A •Takt Time •742 sec •Pareto of Issues
•Select top 1
•Time •Plan •Actual •+/- •Issues or 2 items

•Down Time
•7:00 - 8:00 5 5
5 5 •Review daily
•8:00 - 9:00 5 4 issues in a
10 9 -1 •Paintline Down 10min
weekly pareto
•9:00 - 10:15 5 15
5
14 -1
•10:15 - 11:15 5 20
4
18 -2 •No chasis 15 min
•11:15 - 12:45 5 25
5
23 -2 •Issues
•12:45 - 1:45 5 30
5
28 -2
•1:45 - 3:00 5 35
3
31 -4 •Test equipment down 25 min •Countermeasures
•3:00 - 4:15 1 1
36 32 -4
•We can see a
•4:15 - 5:15
reduction in our
•5:15 - 5:30 daily issues
•Total 36 32
36 32

•Monthly KPI's for cell and business •Create an

measurements action plan
•Process results
with names
in measurable
•Quality •Cost •Delivery and dates
monthly
•Labor Productivity

•Actual Production
improvements
•PPM

•Month •Month •Month

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 17. Process Steps are Error Proofed
Rework

Traditional Method A B C Inspect SHIP

Scrap

Information flows immediately back to the last process step.

Lean Method A B C SHIP

Each process step is Error Proofed

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