Smed tool

Put all activities that are done in a big stack chart and use color coding to visualize which steps are non value adding, which are external and which are internal. Improve team work. Use the benefits of team work to get the job done faster. Train a team with a clear division of roles standards who can perform their tasks in parallel. Make sure you take personnel needs like coffee and lunch breaks in account when planning a change over. It is not uncommon for a machine to be shut down for 15 minutes extra because people are on coffee break Floyd, Prepare change overs well with a planning and standard work to cover all activities that need to be done.

A special tool kit with all the materials and tools needed to perform the set-up also helps reducing the preparation time. In any situation where we produce in large batches because we cannot afford to have more change overs, SMED is the tool to use. By reducing the changeover times, we can reduce the batch size of the machine and thereby reducing the inventories on both sides of the machine.

This leads to a reduction of lead time , the one KPI, used to measure the flow of the process. Floyd, R. New York: Productivity Press. Nicholas, J. Competitive Manufacturing Management. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Shingo, S. Cambridge: Productivity Press. Read the summary here and get your copy here! Read the summary here , and get your copy here! For internal components on the other hand, it is a careful examination of the steps in the process.

The goal here is to see which of the steps can be changed from internal to external. Lunch time is swiftly rolling along with each and every hand tick. This is opposed to getting all the ingredients out of the refrigerator and storage right when they are needed. It is done beforehand. Thus, this is the change from internal to external. It significantly speeds up the process. The first step is to choose and identify a process where you want to improve the changeover times.

Here are some criteria to help you decide on a process:. The next step is to identify elements. Record the whole series of steps on video. This will largely help in identifying which steps can be improved.

Separate them in terms of what can be done by humans, and which are done via machines. This means it is done before the actual changeover.

Every machine setup consists of multiple smaller tasks that need to be executed. First, all tasks to prepare a machine for another product are consolidated in an overview. Then the following techniques are applied:. Internal operations are executed within a machine and can therefore only be conducted if the machine has stopped.

Shifting operations from internal to external setup allows the reduction of machine downtime since setup operations can now be conducted outside the machine, while it is still running. Setups are often conducted on multiple sides of the machines. Walk-ways around the machine account for a significant time loss.

Changing the setup of a machine with two operators often reduces setup time to more than half, since walkways are saved. A setup matrix is used to determine how long the setup changes between products are. By measuring the time from one setup to another the setup matrix is filled out.

How can we simplify this element? Examples of techniques that can be used to streamline elements are:. The deliverable from this step should be a set of updated work instructions for the changeover i. When implementing SMED, it is helpful to recognize that there are two broad categories of improvement:. Experience has taught that the human elements are typically much faster and less expensive to improve then the technical elements.

In other words, the quick wins are usually with the human elements. Avoid the temptation, especially with technically proficient teams, to over-focus on technical elements. Instead, focus first on the human elements. The following chart illustrates this principle, showing example areas of opportunity for SMED projects. Learn About Vorne XL. Item Description Duration The changeover is long enough to have significant room for improvement, but not too long as to be overwhelming in scope e.

Variation There is large variation in changeover times e. Opportunities There are multiple opportunities to perform the changeover each week so proposed improvements can be quickly tested. Familiarity Employees familiar with the equipment operators, maintenance personnel, quality assurance, and supervisors are engaged and motivated. If constraint equipment is selected, minimize the potential risk by building temporary stock and otherwise ensuring that unanticipated downtime can be tolerated.

Item Description Elements A typical changeover will result in 30 to 50 elements being documented. Sticky Notes A fast method of capturing elements is to create a series of post-it notes that are stuck to a wall in the order in which they are performed during the changeover.

As discussed later, the human elements are usually easiest to optimize. Other Notes While videotaping the changeover have several observers taking notes. Sometimes the observers will notice things that are missed on the videotape. Observe Only observe — let the changeover take its normal course. Cleaning Cleaning tasks that can be performed while the process is running.