Workcells are groups of resources organized to achieve specific objectives in business operations, reducing lag time and waste. They involve arranging machines and refining worker motions for peak efficiency, and can also be applied to office layouts. Effective workcells increase productivity without causing physical strain, benefiting both the business and employees.
Workcells are strategically organized groups of resources that are assembled to achieve a specific objective in the operation of a business. The idea behind a workcell is generally to structure the use of these resources in a way that reduces the lag time between critical steps, improves the efficiency of each individual step, and eliminates as much raw material waste as possible. A workcell relies heavily on employing logical progression to create and maintain this type of process.
One of the easiest ways to understand how a workcell works is to consider the layout of machines on the factory floor. Ideally, machinery is positioned so that work-in-process goods move smoothly and orderly from one machine to the next, ending the production process as a finished product. Typically, this means that the floor is arranged so that raw materials are transported from storage to the first machine in the sequence without having to pass through other machines, saving time and effort that help increase production efficiency.
The same logical arrangement is applied to the rest of the process. With the correct structure of the work cell, the raw materials pass through the first stage of refinement and pass directly to the next set of machines used in the process, without the need to transport the materials through other machines that will be used later. Ideally, the machinery is located close enough that manual transport takes seconds rather than minutes. Even if some type of mechanical transport is used to move the goods from one machine to another, this must be done with minimal delay.
Along with arranging the machines, a viable workcell also involves refining the motions that workers must use to operate the machines at peak efficiency. That means arranging the controls within easy reach and developing a simple but effective sequence of moves to handle materials in the shortest possible time. As with positioning machines in the most logical pattern, the most logical range of motion must be developed for each employee involved in the manufacturing process.
The general idea of a workcell can also be used to design the most effective layout for an administrative office. Small details such as the arrangement of workstations and where shared equipment such as copy and fax machines are placed with care. Even something like the ease of connecting with co-workers to tackle a task with time efficiency is essential for keeping office productivity at optimal levels.
It is important to note that an effective workcell does not create additional difficulties for workers. Rather, the effect is to allow each worker to accomplish more while expending less on physical exertion. As a result, the worker is able to be more productive, but without experiencing rapid energy depletion as the day progresses. Thus, a properly executed workcell not only benefits the business, but also provides the employee with a more enjoyable work experience, something that only serves to increase customer loyalty and workforce stability.
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