Reduction of Setup Time (SMED)

Problems

• Long and complex setups;
• Excessive time spent on tightening and loosening operations;
• Inconsistent setup times;
• Dies and tools too far from machines;
• Delay caused while waiting for dedicated setup teams;
• Large production runs;
• High levels of WIP and finished products in inventory;
• Long delivery delays;
• Low production flexibility.

Our approach

A team of employees analyzes current setup operations and develops and tests new setup methods and procedures with the objective of minimizing down time due to changes in production runs. The new setup procedure optimizes the use of material, tools, information and people.

Similar to a pit stop in Formula 1 racing, equipment changes must be controlled and standardized, that is why the team verifies the new setup times and trains the employees with regard to the new methods. That is also why the team implements a system that will allow maintenance and continuous improvement of results.

Anticipated results

The company will enjoy greater production flexibility (due to reduced run size) or increased productivity and capacity (due to reduced setup times at bottleneck workstations).

Team members can continuously monitor their setup performance and deploy the setup time reduction approach on other bottleneck equipment that is limiting production system performance.

For the company whose production system performance and flexibility are limited by lengthy setup times.