Cellular manufacturing can be described as “a method of producing like for like products repeatedly using groups of team members and workstations, known as cells, to reduce waste and manufacturing costs across operations” (Business Dictionary). When an operation implements cellular manufacturing the ultimate goal should be a small scale, self contained production unit that resides inside the larger operation. This particular unit (or cell) has ultimate responsibility and accountability for producing a family of the same parts or the same product.
The great thing about cellular manufacturing unity is that all the required equipment, machinery and manpower needed for the production of that part is all contained within the same space, or cell. Every worker that works in the cell should be fully trained on every responsibility in the cell. Workers in a cell can rotate and decrease the fatigue that results from repeating the same task over and over for eight to twelve hours.
The fast food industry has mastered the concept of cellular manufacturing and other lean operations adopted for the manufacturing sector. Lean mindset focuses on waste reduction and deceased costs, perfect for the fast food industry. Lean methodology helps to increase quality and service and when used in food industry can be used to improve customer loyalty.
When you take a look behind the counter of any fast food joint you will see cellular manufacturing at its finest. There are many stations with specific tasks, such as “burger station” or “salad station”. Each employee has mastered each task within the station and this allows for decreasing the time needed to perform that task. This makes everyone happy by shortening the amount of time we wait on the food to arrive.
Metrics that I would use for the fast food industry would be to measure brand recognition and customer satisfaction.