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Quick Changeover (SMED): 7 Steps to Improve Your Manufacturing Process
In this article, Delta ModTech will define Quick Changeover, then discuss the seven steps to improve your converting process.
WHAT IS SMED? SMED stands for Single-Minute Exchange of Dies and it is a lean production method used to reduce the waste in your manufacturing process. Like changeover, it helps reduce the amount of changeover time from running one product to the next.
WHAT IS QUICK CHANGEOVER? Quick Changeover is the amount of time taken to change a piece of equipment from producing the last good piece of a production lot to the first good piece of the next production lot. It’s essentially the same as SMED.
A CLASSIC QUICK CHANGEOVER EXAMPLE A perfect example of Quick Changeover is a pit crew at a race track. How quickly the company gets the car in and out of the pit can mean the difference between winning and losing.
HOW DOES QUICK CHANGEOVER WORK IN A MANUFACTURING SETTING? It is hard to say how many companies that use converting machines actually track their changeover rate. It is used among medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers, who have numerous validation requirements, as well as in the tag and label industry. Contract converters also track their changeover rate. Obviously, there’s a lot of money to be gained (or lost) by improving your Quick Changeover efficiency.
BENEFITS TO IMPROVING QUICK CHANGEOVER (SMED) If you can attach a monetary value to the following improvements, they can help you justify and advance your efforts: • Reduce your defect rates and scrap while improving product quality Because you’ll make less adjustments as part of your setup, you’ll improve quality on the first piece and reduce defects and scrap.
• Reduce your inventory costs As you reduce the number of batches and their
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Step 4 – Optimise the internal activities Step 5 – Optimise the external activities Step 6 – Document the new procedure so it can be repeated and reproduced
When you’ve defined the Quick Changeover process, now comes the time to thoroughly document it.
sizes, you can recover operating cash and manufacturing space.
• Increase your production flexibility You’ll increase your output and boost the timeliness of your response to customer orders.
• Increase your on-time delivery and reduce lead times You’ll be more adept at meeting customer demands.
• Reduce indirect costs This includes costs for material movement, counting and transaction processing.
• Reduce level of operator skills required The more standardised your processes, the less you’re relying on operator skill and judgement calls.
QUICK CHANGEOVER TECHNIQUES: THE 7 STEPS TO IMPROVE QUICK CHANGEOVER Now we’d like to take you through a 7-step process to improve your Quick Changeover. The 7-step process is detailed by Ron Pereira of the Gemba Academy and was published in our blog post; we recommend you listen to his audio interview where he walks you through each step.
We will take Ron’s process and apply it to a typical converting run, so you can see an example of how to pursue Quick Changeover improvement. Step 1 – Observe the current converting process Step 2 – Categorise the internal and external converting activities Step 3 – Convert internal activities into external activities
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We have touched on the need for medical and pharma companies to validate their processes, so many readers may be doing this already. Part of the validation process includes keeping accurate records of the process. Step 7 – Pursue perfection
This is only the beginning. As you’ve established your Quick Changeover Process, now you can begin to improve on it, bit by bit, shift by shift.
CONVERTING MODULES THAT CAN IMPROVE CHANGEOVER Delta ModTech has developed specific modules that can speed your changeover. We’ve noted some new enhancements in the blog feature; please visit our website to read this full article and download the Quick Changeover Guide. Download the guide.
Visit us at COMPAMED in Hall 8A Stand M34 at Messe Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany on 11-14 November 2024. Visit the booth to see a LIVE demonstration on our Delta ModTech Crusader. We will be converting a complex medical part.
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