Turbocharge your changeovers with SMED
Single-minute exchange of die, SMED for short, is a method used to analyse the workflows involved in a setup or changeover procedure, and group these into internal and external flows. Internal flows are the tasks that can only be executed when the machine is at a standstill. External flows describe the routines that can also be performed when the machine is running. The aim is to reduce downtime during setup work and therefore avoid unnecessarily high losses of revenue.
Benefits of the SMED method
The SMED method is applied in multiple iterations. During each iteration, the work steps are re-evaluated, new work steps are created and are then regrouped as necessary. The overall aim here is to transition as many actions as possible into external tasks that can also be completed when the machine is running, such as preparatory changeover routines, for example. This has the potential to offer several advantages:
- Reduction in setup/changeover time >50%
- Batch size reduction
- Increasing variant variety
- Reducing overproduction
- Reducing circulating/finished stock
- Reducing storage space
- Reducing the risk of accident (potential collisions with other employees) by significantly shortening process routes
Procedure of the method
