After designing and building prove and successful assembly and manufacturing cells for 25 years, we have compiled the common sense rules that govern our cell designs. Whether you're building a few or a few hundred units per shift, these rules will provide benefits and pay dividends. So in broad strokes, here are ten rules for lean cell design. Keep it moving. To achieve maximum productivity with a balanced cell, product needs to flow one piece at a time with minimum effort. Keep production balanced with limited work in process space. Keep it small. Strive to miniaturize the cell as much as possible. This minimizes floor space, work in progress, transferring and handling of product and assist teamwork. Provide in-process con-bond when necessary. Keep it logical and sequential. What is the proper sequence for assembly? Talk with your operators for input on division of work, tact times and line balance. Don't make it more difficult than necessary. What is the optimum cell layout? Straight line, U-shaped, L-shaped or oval? What equipment or sub-assembly needs to be integrated? Make it ergonomic. Don't fight the process. Design the workstation to fit the task and operator, not the other way around. Use a modular design that makes it easy for the operator to work their position. Economize on movement. Are the tools, supplies, components and equipment within easy reach? The goal is to integrate fixturing, product rotation and positioning into the process. Create universal fixturing for mixed model production. Minimize look and reach time. No hyper extensions. Optimize parts presentation. Are all components at point of use? If there are large or bulky components, are they easily handled? Would customized flow racks be a value? Are sub-assemblies being produced and presented at point of use? Do it online the same way always. Strike for standard work procedures and manufacturing uniformity. Provide method instructions. If possible include test, QC, inspection and packout online at each position to minimize rework and work in progress. Stop the line with reoccurring rework or quality problems. Minimize wasteful handling and exchanges. Seems simple but any handling that is not adding value is wasteful. Eliminate lifting and movement offline. As an example, a 25 pound product lifted unnecessarily 10 times for a 50 unit production per day is over six tons of wasted handling. Keep it open and flexible. Keep sight lines across the cell open to improve communication between the team and also for fast real-time visual management on the floor. Flexible cell design should be scalable and encourage change and continuous improvement. Use and on lights and scoreboards for up to the minute visual line status. Keep it simple. There are many reasons to keep it simple. Low or no maintenance, ease to reconfigure, low first cost, economical operation. Don't make it more complicated than you really need. There may not be a payback. So, in very general terms, these common sense goals have created some very successful cells. Each point may yield a percent or a few but collectively they can dramatically increase productivity and efficiency, resulting in a fast return on investment. Take nothing for granted and don't leave any stones unturned. A successful lean cell is the application of common sense. For a free consultation on how to apply our proven lean cell concepts to your process, contact us at sales at worksmartsystems.com or 978-536-5000.