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Definition
SMED means “Single Minute Exchange of Dies” or Setup time that can be counted in a single digit of minutes This is the process of reducing the needed time to change a machine or a production line from manufacturing one product to another. A good and very used synonym is “quick changeover”.
SMED proved itself useful in industries with short product life cycles, high product diversity or with high needs in inventory reduction. This means, nowadays, most of the industries.
Advantages of SMED
Very useful for any company that manufactures, prepares or packages a variety of products on a single line or machine, SMED will allow: To keep less inventory To keep expensive equipment running To get a faster return on investment (ROI) of key equipment To offer a wider diversity of products To reduce the work in progress (WIP)
Principles of SMED
After manufacturing the last product of a given lot, the following operations are to be done: Equipment shut down, Line or machine cleaning, Old tooling removing or old tooling adjustment, New tooling installation, New tooling adjustments, Ramp-up process.
SMED’s aim is to reduce the time corresponding to these operations.
The SMED process starts by separating all changeover operations into the following categories: External Setup involves operations that can be done while the machine is still running, Internal Setup involves operations that must take place when the equipment is stopped, Non-essential operations.
SMED process then will consist in:
Eliminate non-essential operations: Replacement of specific parts only, make all others standard, adjust only one side instead of both… Change operations from Internal to External Set-up as much as possible Perform External Set-up: Gather parts, tools, new product material, pre-heat dies… Simplify Internal Set-up: Use pins, cams, and jigs to reduce adjustments, replace nuts and bolts with hand knobs, levers and toggle clamps. Continuously measure improvement – To verify the time reduction
A good example of a SMED result is any formula 1 pit stop: the pit crew has applied to the limit all principles of SMED!
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