Quick Changeover

Companies often take a Narrow view of Quick changeover as only ""the time required to pull an existing tool or fixture andset the new tool or fixture."" Changeover in the True sense is defined as the time between the last good piece off one production or process run and thefirst good piece off the next run .

When the process or machine is down because of a changeover, value-added activity ceases. Scrap generated from astart-up can be significant when a trial-and-error approach is used to adjust for process capability during the changeover.

Quick changeover is critical to any company wishing to implement One-Piece-Flow and apply waste-eliminating techniques for all types of service, administrative, manufacturing, and assembly processes.

Significant waste can be eliminated from changeover activities with very little investment in resources. Many companies produce large lot sizes because of the excessive resources required to change over from one process to a subsequent process.

Single-minute exchange of die (SMED) is a series of operator techniques developed by Shigeo Shingo that target changeovers of production equipment, fixtures, or processes in less than tenminutes. Even though the target of SMED is ten minutes, the long-term goal is always zero changeover time so that changeovers are instantaneous and do not interfere in any way with one-piece flow.
Physical changeover includes managing both internal and external changeover tasks :

- Internal activities are those that can only be performed while the machine or process is shut down or idles.

- External activities are those that can be performed while the machine or process is running. Making changeover times quicker and simpler allows companies to produce in smaller lot sizes.

By applying Quick Changeover you will :

• Increased flexibility to react to changes in customer demand.
• Improved quality based on reduction in start-up rejects and reduced setup errors.
• Capacity gains based on fewer resources required to conduct changeover activities.
• Simpler setups for employees who conduct the changeovers.
• Safer setups for employees who conduct the changeovers.
• Consistency in changeover activities for employees from shift to shift and over time.
• Reduced inventory because of fewer rejects and smaller lot sizes.
• Less clutter.
• Setup tools and methodologies are standardized.
• Reduced searching waste during changeover activities.
• Reduced motion waste during changeover activities.
• Reduction in lead times and quicker deliveries based onshorter changeover times.