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Manufacturing facilities may simplify their operations by converting from a process‐based layout to manufacturing cells. Mathematically, many possible configurations of cells exist, so it may prove computationally infeasible to analyse them all. Also, some current methods of cell design do not take account of the pattern of demand of the existing products or the sequence of the operations that are performed on the products. Presents a simple method of designing manufacturing cells, which uses product demand and operations sequence to design feasible cells, while remaining computationally simple. The method uses a standard spreadsheet tool, so is accessible to a wide range of manufacturing facilities. The method is illustrated with an actual application to a press shop manufacturing over 200 products on 20 presses.

There are both “Swedish” and “Japanese” models for the organization of final assembly. Discusses the theoretical and historical background to these models and the main practical differences between them. Provides an empirical study based on action research conducted in the final assembly area of a Scottish electronics company. The aims of the research were to effect change in the company by applying just‐in‐time (JIT) assembly methods, and to observe the process of change and the consequences for production of the cellular approach to assembly and the formation of assembly teams. Two projects were undertaken. In the first, a JIT cell was built for the assembly of a new product; this cell and an existing, conventional flowline operated in parallel for a period. In the second, a work team was formed, consisting of the operators assembling an older product on a machine‐paced line; the members of this team were given a significantly higher level of work autonomy than before. Provides a detailed account of the two projects.

Line–cell conversion and rotation of operators between cells are common in lean production systems. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide an integrated look at these two practices through integrating job rotation scheduling and line-cell conversion problems, as well as investigating the effect of rotation frequency on flow time of a Seru system.

First, a nonlinear integer programming model of job rotation scheduling problem and line–cell conversion problem (Seru-JRSP) was presented. Then, because Seru-JRSP is NP-hard, an efficient and effective invasive weed optimization (IWO) algorithm was developed. Exploration process of IWO was enhanced by enforcing two shake mechanisms.

Computations of various sample problems showed shorter flow time and less number of assigned operators in a Seru system scheduled through job rotation. Also, nonlinear behavior of flow time versus number of rotation periods was shown. It was demonstrated that, setting number of rotation frequency to one in line with the literature leads to inferior flow time. In addition, ability of developed algorithm to generate clusters of equivalent solutions in terms of flow time was shown.

In this research, integration of job rotation scheduling and line–cell conversion problems was introduced, considering lack of an integrated look at these two practices in the literature. In addition, a new improved IWO equipped with shake enforcement was introduced.

Tissue engineering (TE) offers treatments for chronic, life threatening, degenerative illnesses and possibilities for restoring cellular or organ functions that have been lost due to injuries or hereditary conditions. However, a prerequisite for the use of TE products as part of future therapies is the development of strategies for safe and efficient supply chain management and versatile services spanning from product development to a follow‐up period of possibly decades. The present study aims to explore the future needs for services and extended supply chains for safe delivery of health care, procurement, distribution and long‐term follow‐up of TE products and therapies.

Studies in operational disciplines and coordination systems for different types of supply chains and service networks are used to formulate a framework for developing services throughout product lifecycle. Case examples of TE products are presented to demonstrate complexity, microbial risks, services and long‐term follow‐up. The role of logistics and the necessary services are identified for products classified into experimental, therapy and standard products.

The paper finds that, through the stages, the importance of logistics increases from an enabler to becoming a strategic tool, emphasizing logistics requirements in establishing a viable TE supply chain. New dimensions to existing service operations frameworks are needed where proactive tissue sourcing, long follow‐up periods, short shelf life and biological risks call for enforcing flexible services with tissue banks, detailed tracing, authorization and regulation.

The paper presents the discovery of the logistics services and service institutions that will become imperatives for the future success of TE products and therapies.

Champion Irrigation Products is a company which has started to employ the principles of Cellular Manufacturing in its operations. Undertakes the task of examining the applicability of Cellular Manufacturing at the company by using several methods for cell formation. Describes the design and implementation phase of the application, along with the obstacles encountered and solutions provided. Benefits realized from the application of Cellular Manufacturing at Champion Irrigation Products include reduction in work‐in‐process inventory and materials movement, increase in quality, and simplification of production, planning and control procedures. The success of the application lies in the fact that management at Champion Irrigation Products did not view Cellular Manufacturing as a mere rearrangement of the factory floor, but as a starting‐point for the continuous questioning of its practices, with the goal of improving the manufacturing function.

Many manufacturing organizations are switching over to JIT manufacturing systems following the success of Japanese industries. Presents a case study of a simulation modelling approach in the design and analysis of a proposed JIT system for an Australian chemical company, which currently operates on a traditional system. The approach was used to compare two cell designs, and to estimate utilization levels for operators and materials handlers under the new system, and to determine reorder levels for raw materials at the work stations in order to operate the JIT system successfully.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, a case study on applying lean principles in manufacturing operations to redesign and optimize an electronic device assembly process and its impact on performance and second, introducing cardboard prototyping as a Kaizen tool offering a novel approach to testing and simulating improvement scenarios.

The study employs value stream mapping, root cause analysis, and brainstorming tools to identify root causes of poor performance, followed by deploying a Kaizen event to redesign and optimize an electronic device assembly process. Using physical models, bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement were identified by the Kaizen approach at the workstations and assembly lines, enabling the testing of various scenarios and ideas. Changes in lead times, throughput, work in process inventory and assembly performance were analyzed and documented.

Pre- and post-improvement measures are provided to demonstrate the impact of the Kaizen event on the performance of the assembly cell. The study reveals that implementing lean tools and techniques reduced costs and increased throughput by reducing assembly cycle times, manufacturing lead time, space utilization, labor overtime and work-in-process inventory requirements.

This paper adds a new dimension to applying the Kaizen methodology in manufacturing processes by introducing cardboard prototyping, which offers a novel way of testing and simulating different scenarios for improvement. The paper describes the process implementation in detail, including the techniques and data utilized to improve the process.

Existing models of product assembly scheme design often ignore the constraint relations among design thinking. In order to grasp the functions of each part and the constraint relations among them in product assembly system macroscopically, further design and variation of product assembly system should be made according to design thinking. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Through analyzing the similarity between biological organization system and product system and taking biology knowledge for reference, product assembly system was expressed as product function gene, product constraint gene, product function protein, product constraint protein and product cell and so on in this paper. The product gene model composed of product function gene groups and constraint genes was established and a modeling method based on it was proposed.

The author applied this method to model the 5‐DOF manipulator of complex diamond manufacturing special equipment with good results which proved the effectiveness of this modeling method.

By identifying constraint relations and design thinking in the gene model, the system makes the modification process which is conducted by the designers automatically identified and varied to achieve computer‐aided design and assembly.

The concept of world class manufacturing is examined in terms of the definitions which have been developed in recent survey based research. A fundamental flaw in such approaches is that they model a fixed notion of manufacturing competitiveness. The paper presents results from case based research which addresses these issues, and shows how, even in relatively compatible environments, forcing different operations facilities to become similar would potentially undermine competitiveness. The unit of analysis is the manufacturing cell, and evidence is provided which describes the relative postions of the four cells studied. The study concludes that the cells have distinct strategic needs, and that a single “lean” mindset would be inappropriate.

When a functional layout is converted to a cellular layout, the cell design is generally based on a static picture of production volume and part mix, but manufacturing environments face ongoing changes in these parameters. It is expected that, eventually, changes in production volume and part mix will cause a deterioration in cell performance to the point that a cell’s machine layout must be redesigned, marking the end of the cell’s life cycle. Tests the existence of cell life cycles and performance deterioration attributed to changes in production volume and part mix through an exploratory field study which was undertaken at 15 firms using cellular manufacturing. Finds that cell life cycles did exist, but usually either in anticipation of declining cell performance ‐ rather than in reaction to it ‐ or in anticipation of potential improvements in cell performance due to changes in the marketplace.