what are t similarities and differences between lean ,Cellular and socio-technical approches ?

Question

In their approach to customer?
the treatment of their resources such as; layout and information?
thier applicability to particular types of industry?
their treatment of workforce?

Answer 1

Lean manufacturing is most often associated with the Toyota Production System. Lean manufacturing designs manufacturing processes with built in capabilities to eliminate waste and mistakes as well as increase productivity. Search Yahoo on "Toyota Production System" and "Kan-ban" to find all you would ever want to know.

Cellular manufacturing is more about the arrangement of machines and process to eliminate "queues" or inventory piles between processes. This is especially important in operations that depend highly upon the orientation of a part or blank in order to process it. By using a cell, the orientation is utilized and controlled throughout all the operations of the cell (once a part gets tossed in a bin, the orientation is lost).

Socio-technical approaches have a high degree of dependency upon the type of manufacturing and product being produced. Flexible manufacturing is a socio-technical approach that is implemented with some degree of success.