Cellular manufacturing in the U.S. industry: a survey of users

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a survey study of 32 U.S. firms involved with cellular manufacturing. Areas covered include the reasons for establishing cells, benefits achieved, types and sizes of cells, extent of cellularization in the plants, methods used to design the cells, changes to planning and control systems, labour-related issues and important experiences gained by the companies. The data presented here were collected as part of a larger study of various group technology (GT) applications in which 53 companies participated. GT applications other than cellular manufacturing are described in Hyer and Wemmerlöv, 1989, Group technology in the U.S. manufacturing industry: a survey of current practices, International Journal of Production Research.