Lean Dynamics LLC                                                                            

Changeovers that are time consuming or expensive in materials or labor are among the most insidious factors affecting process performance.  Long changeovers cause production managers to run long campaigns to avoid changeovers, resulting in high inventories and loss of agility, responsiveness and flexibility.

Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is a straightforward technique to reduce changeover time and cost.  It consists of a few uncomplicated but powerful steps:



We have deep experience in SMED.  Our experience is that for operations that have not put a conscious focus on changeovers, the first SMED event will cut the changeover time in half.  And revisiting SMED after the revised changeover process has had time to stabilize will yield additional reductions. 

If changeovers are an issue for you, SMED and Product Wheel scheduling  are your most potent weapons.

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