How do you apply the 5S principles to improve cellular efficiency and quality?

When you talk about the efficiency then we must focus on eliminating waste and 5S is the basic piller for it. 1S sorting the unwanted for the current usage still in many organization's decision making on sorting is the biggest challenge When we eliminate the unwanted the a place for every thing and everything in place is a low hanging fruit to harvest

By focusing the work of each operator within the cell, it also lessens the training time involved should the operation have turn-over.

It then became important to have each cell start and run their stranger products first so that if anything happened to the production cell, e.g., absenteeism, equipment failure, etc., that could cause loss of production time, we could move the runners and repeaters to other cells far more easily than the stranger products which were only produced in one or two cells.

With our high product mix and fluctuation week to week, we categorized each product as runners, repeaters or strangers. While strangers were the lower volume units, a particular stranger unit was "owned" by a specific cell or two and thus produced all of those. Runner products were mid-range volumes and were spread across three to four cells in order to help level production while still minimizing the number of products that a cell needed to produce. Finally, were the runner products. Generally, larger volume products that were able to be produced by a number of cells. This final category was used to absolutely level production across the cells in the plant.

Sometimes, the cell can be designed to handle 80% of the work mix. Design equipment on wheels to allow for modifying the cell flow to accommodate the less frequently run products. Make sure that all equipment works properly or note maintenance issues before the end of production.

When considering if cellular manufacturing is right for your facility, consider the unit economics and economies of scale of your products. For more varied portfolios of products and/or small production runs, the additional cost, labor, and complexity to set up a cellular layout may not be economical. If you are operating a larger portfolio of high volume, more similar product types, especially if they share a significant number of in-house manufactured or complex assembly subcomponents, then cellular manufacturing is more likely to make economic sense.

Ideally, design cells in a "U" shape with beginning and end near each other. Equipment/work station is close enough that no parts (WIP) build up between stations and the cell could function with as little as 1 person up to the max of a person at each station. Quality issues are identified and resolved immediately within the cell.

These practices also help reduce safety risks in the cell. Items misplaced can become slip, trip or fall hazards. Everything has a place and in its place. This helps us identify Normal vs. Abnormal (3 second rule). Items out of place or missing can impact Safety, Quality, and Delivery. Sustain is where we fall short most of the time. Ensure you have a routine audit system and clear standards. 5S takes discipline and must be handle as such by all tiers of the organization. Shop floor through leadership.