Reorganizing The Factory

Winner of the 2003 Shingo Prize! Reorganizing work processes into cells has helped many organizations streamline operations, shorten lead times, increase quality, and lower costs. Cellular manufacturing is a powerful concept that is simple to understand; however, its ultimate success depends on deciding where cells fit into your organization, and then applying the know-how to design, implement and operate them. Reorganizing the Factory presents a thoroughly researched and comprehensive "life cycle" approach to competing through cellular work organizations. It takes you from the basic cell concept and its benefits through the process of justifying, designing, implementing, operating, and improving this new type of work organization in offices and on the factory floor. The book discusses many important technical dimensions, such as factory analysis, cell design, planning and control systems, and principles for lead time and inventory reduction. However, unique to the literature, it also covers in depth the numerous managerial issues that accompany organizing work into cells. In most implementations, performance measurement, compensation, education and training, employee involvement, and change management are critically important. These issues are often overlooked in the planning process, yet they can occupy more of the implementation time than do the technical aspects of cells. Includes: Why do cells improve lead time, quality, and cost? Planning for cell implementation Justifying the move to cells, strategically and economically Designing efficient manufacturing and office cells Selecting and training cell employees Compensation system for cell employees Performance and cost measurement Planning and control of materials and capacity Managing the change to cells Problems in designing, implementing, and operating cells Improving and adapting existing cells Structured frameworks and checklists to help analysis and decision-making Numerous examples of cells in various industries

Winner of the 2003 Shingo Prize!Reorganizing work processes into cells has helped many organizations streamline operations, shorten lead times, increase quality, and lower costs. Cellular manufacturing is a powerful concept that is simple to understand; however, its ultimate success depends on deciding where cells fit into your organization, and then applying the know-how to design, implement and operate them.Reorganizing the Factory presents a thoroughly researched and comprehensive "life cycle" approach to competing through cellular work organizations. It takes you from the basic cell concept and its benefits through the process of justifying, designing, implementing, operating, and improving this new type of work organization in offices and on the factory floor.The book discusses many important technical dimensions, such as factory analysis, cell design, planning and control systems, and principles for lead time and inventory reduction. However, unique to the literature, it also covers in depth the numerous managerial issues that accompany organizing work into cells. In most implementations, performance measurement, compensation, education and training, employee involvement, and change management are critically important. These issues are often overlooked in the planning process, yet they can occupy more of the implementation time than do the technical aspects of cells. Includes: Why do cells improve lead time, quality, and cost?Planning for cell implementationJustifying the move to cells, strategically and economicallyDesigning efficient manufacturing and office cellsSelecting and training cell employeesCompensation system for cell employeesPerformance and cost measurementPlanning and control of materials and capacityManaging the change to cellsProblems in designing, implementing, and operating cellsImproving and adapting existing cellsStructured frameworks and checklists to help analysis and decision-makingNumerous examples of cells in various industries.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This book covers the subject of digital manufacturing. It provides a practical guide for readers on using computer aided design (CAD), computer aided engineering (CAE) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) and other computer assistive tools for the design of products, machines, processes and system integrations through the case studies of engineering projects. The book introduces a thorough theoretical foundation and discussion of the historical development, and enabling technologies of digital manufacturing. It also covers a broad range of computer aided tools for a variety of applications including: geometric modelling; assembly modelling; motion simulation; finite element analysis; manufacturing process simulation; machining programming; product data management; and, product lifecycle management. Practical Guide to Digital Manufacturing uses many real-world case studies to illustrate the discussed applications, making it easily readable for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as engineers with the needs of computer-aided design and manufacturing knowledge and skills.