The projected part life is another factor to be considered. Traceability becomes more difficult in a cell. If a problem is found and can t be traced back to what machine or fixture it was produced on, a large volume of production is subject to recall. Often it depends on the part being manufactured. But one thing is certain, cellular systems provide a high level of machine utilization.
Cells allow for multiple jobs to be queued up that can go to a variety of machines as needed.
Companies are converting to cells in part because it s investment-driven. If the volumes drop off, a cellular system will allow the opportunity to reconfigure that equipment to reuse that capital investment. Once the initial capital investment is made, the experts say not to agonize over the setup of the cell. While there might be an optimum setup, there isn t necessarily a right or wrong way to set up a cellular system. Both Graham and Wichman agree that the same equipment can be configured in a variety of ways.