Relations between Cells in Cellular Manufacturing

This paper analyses the kind of coordination that is necessary in firms that use cellular manufacturing in producing parts. We distinguish two levels of coordination: internal and external. The coordination at these levels is further divided into primary and secondary coordination. In this study we concentrate on coordination requirements between cells with respect to the primary transformation process, i.e. the external primary coordination within cellular manufacturing. We present reasons from the literature for the existence of various relations between cells. A comprehensive description of the external primary coordination requirements is offered in three types of relations between cells: sequential, simultaneous, and latent relations. We show that using this distinction helps to identify specific coordination requirements between cells in the five firms we studied.