Extending Lean Manufacturing Systems Through Implementing Mobility (A Case Study)

Lean manufacturing transformation has been adopted by many industries in the northern hemisphere including small businesses as a survival method against tough competition from lowcost labor markets. The lean manufacturing system is the final result of lean transformation. A lean manufacturing system is a manufacturing system that is characterized by low (Work In Process Inventory) WIP, material pull instead of push, and the use of kanban cards. The heart of a lean manufacturing system is the cellular manufacturing [1]. Although cellular manufacturing has a proven track of success, it suffers a major drawback. That is, when the product and/or the product mix changes, a cell reconfiguration may be required. This leads to movement of heavy machinery inside the work area. Besides being a time consuming activity; it is a major contributor to employee dissatisfaction. This paper is based on extending lean manufacturing systems by enabling machine mobility through converting static machines into mobile ones.