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Extending Lean Manufacturing Systems through Implementing Mobility (A Case Study) Gadalla, M. A., Alam, M., *Watkins , P., Soro, Y. Central Connecticut State University *Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Abstract

Lean manufacturing transformation has been adopted by many industries in the northern hemisphere including small businesses as a survival method against tough competition from low- cost labor markets. The lean manufacturing system is the final result of lean transformation. A lean manufacturing system is a manufacturing system that is characterized by low (Work In Process Inventory) WIP, material pull instead of push, and the use of kanban cards.

The heart of a lean manufacturing system is the cellular manufacturing [1]. Although cellular manufacturing has a proven track of success, it suffers a major drawback. That is, when the product and/or the product mix changes, a cell reconfiguration may be required. This leads to movement of heavy machinery inside the work area. Besides being a time consuming activity; it is a major contributor to employee dissatisfaction. This paper is based on extending lean manufacturing systems by enabling machine mobility through converting static machines into mobile ones.

Introduction

The research in this paper is based on work done by two undergraduate students as their capstone senior design projects at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi (TAMUCC). The work was not only indented to expose students to interesting projects, but also expose them to projects of high research value.

Research Value of the Project

There is a great trend in industry in North America to adopt lean manufacturing as a means to face the fierce competitions from overseas and the low-cost labor markets. Although lean started from the Toyota assembly line, it has expanded enormously to include small to medium size businesses, small machine shops and was even extended to office work.

The main backbone of lean manufacturing systems is cellular manufacturing [1]. The principle of cellular manufacturing is to group parts into families. For each family selected machines are identified as being capable of producing (assembling) the corresponding family.

The main advantage of this approach is the close proximity of the different machines which in turn minimize handling cost and simplify the set-up. It is also a step in the right direction to promote the one piece flow, which is highly recommended in lean philosophy.

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Gadalla, M., & Alam, M., & Soro, Y. (2010, June), Extending Lean Manufacturing Systems Through Implementing Mobility (A Case Study) Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--15840