A longitudinal study of a flexible manufacturing cell operation

Presents the experiences of a medium-sized Australian manufacturer with cellular manufacturing over the past ten years. The case study reveals that careful planning and implementation are not the only component of ongoing success in a flexible cell environment and that effective management of inputs, layouts and human resources is required to ensure strategic benefits over a long period of time. Provides a summary of the initial planning and implementation of the flexible manufacturing cell (FMC), which was considered by management to be successful. The subsequent decisions taken by the company are then described, which resulted in the poor utilisation of the system. The recent actions taken by the manufacturing manager to enhance the performance of the FMC are then discussed. Concludes with a list of the lessons learned and the critical success factors in implementing and managing FMC.