Section 1.

2 : SMED

Definition
SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies) is a system for dramatically reducing the
time it takes to complete equipment changeovers. The essence of the SMED system
is to convert as many changeover steps as possible to “external” (performed while
the equipment is running), and to simplify and streamline the remaining steps. The
name Single-Minute Exchange of Dies comes from the goal of reducing changeover
times to the “single” digits (i.e. less than 10 minutes). (Leanproduction.com, 2011)

Shingo developed the single minute exchange of die (SMED) technique over a
period of 19 years, from 1950. The requirement for SMED stems from the difficulties
encountered in manufacturing environments from diversified, low volume
production.
The SMED theory states that
even if the frequency of
setups cannot be reduced
then the actual downtime
caused by machinery
specification changes can be
greatly reduced, thus
maximising available
production capacity.

Shingo states that- “SMED

can be applied to any factory,
any machine and that the
first stage of implementation
is separating internal and
external set-up.”

The internal activities are performed when no product is being manufactured in the
line, for example gauge set, SPI change, folder adjustment etc. The time taken to
complete all the internal activities constitutes the set-up phase. The external
activities are performed outside the line without disturbing the production inline.
For example, pre-setting of a sewing machine for new style or early loading of cut
parts.

While the internal activities need to be carried out in the set-up phase when the
machine is stopped. The external activities can be carried out during run-down
phase and/or during the run-up phase. (Moxham & Greatbanks, 2001)

Process of Implementation
Step One – Identify Pilot Area
The target area for the pilot SMED program is selected. The ideal equipment will
have the following characteristics:

Item Description

Duration The changeover is long enough to have significant room for

improvement, but not too long as to be overwhelming in scope.

Variation There is large variation in changeover times.

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.

Constraint The equipment is a constraint/bottleneck – thus improvements

will bring immediate benefits.

A baseline time (the time between production of the last good part and production
of the first good part) for the changeover should then be recorded.

Step Two – Identify Elements

The team works together to identify all of the elements of the changeover by
videotaping the entire changeover and then creating an ordered list of elements,
each of which includes:
 ● Description (what work is performed)
● Cost in Time (how long the element takes to complete)
The deliverable from this step should be a complete list of changeover elements,
each with a description and time “cost”.

Step Three – Separate External Elements

Elements of the changeover process that can be performed with little or no change
while the equipment is running are identified and moved “external” to the
changeover (i.e. performed before or after the changeover).
The deliverable should be an updated list of changeover elements, split into three
parts: External Elements (Before Changeover), Internal Elements (During
Changeover), and External Elements (After Changeover).

Step Four – Convert Internal Elements to External

A cost/benefit analysis for each candidate element is performed:
● Cost as measured by the materials and labor needed to make the necessary
changes.
● Benefit as measured by the time that will be eliminated from the changeover.
Once the list has been prioritized work can begin on making the necessary changes.
The deliverable should be an updated list of changeover elements, with fewer
internal elements, and additional external elements (performed before or after the
changeover).

Step Five – Streamline Remaining Elements

In this step, the remaining elements are reviewed with an eye towards streamlining
and simplifying so they can be completed in less time. First priority should be given
to internal elements to support the primary goal of shortening the changeover
time.
For each element, the team should ask the following questions: How can this
element be completed in less time? How can we simplify this element?
As in the previous step a simple cost/benefit analysis should be used to prioritize
action on elements.
The deliverable should be a set of updated work instructions for the changeover
(i.e. creating Standardized Work) and a significantly faster changeover
time.(Leanproduction.com, 2011)
 Apparel Case Study
SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die) methodology in
Garment manufacturing Industry: Case study in reducing
Style Change over Time (Bajpai, 2014)

This paper demonstrates a live case study that reduced style change over time and
the results showed a considerable reduction in delay which was caused due to
machine setting time, batch setting time and demonstration delay using the SMED
in the garment manufacturing industry.

Study was conducted on the sewing floors to note down the list of
activities/elements that are involved in batch setting. The elements along with their
timeline were noted and classified under the following headings: Machine time,
Batch Setting time, Demonstration time, Time delay due to operator.

Style Change over time: Run Down Time + Set Up Time +Run Up Time

Research Methodology
1. Recording and Mapping the entire process of style change over from the time
when the previous style is reaching completion and new style reaches a perfect
flow.
2. Analysis of the activity with time line and noting down all the value added,
non-value added and necessary non value added elements.
3. Then categorizing the elements into Material Time, Batch Setting time,
Demonstration time, time delay due to operator.
4. Than the elements consuming more time are noted and highlighted.
5. With the information of the As IS process, the elements are separated into
Internal, External and Parallel elements. 6. Finally finding the smarter ways to
perform the work.

Case 1
Out-going style: Knitted Ladies polo shirt (Basic style)
New style to be loaded: Knitted Ladies top with metal zippers at the back (Critical
Style)
The new style has critical
operations attachment and
requires special finishes
(binding) that requires special
attachments and guides. The
degree of workmanship
involved is very high. Thus, the
demonstration level increased
and time consumed for
demonstration was 49%
followed by batch setting time
and machine time which is
25% and 22% respectively.

Time delay due to operators

(4%) was mainly due to the
negligence and reluctance.
Waiting for line supervisor for
demonstration, waiting for
operators, waiting for sealed
samples and waiting for
templates were some of the
reasons for delay that
contributed to Batch setting
time. Style Change over time
starts only when the current order is out of the line completely.

Case 2
Out-going style: Mandarin collar full sleeve woven shirt with 3 button placket
New style: Half sleeve woven classic shirt with two pockets with pocket flap

Here, the out-going style and the new style are of the same category and the same
level of workmanship is involved. Hence time consumed for demonstration is less
than the machine setting time as the factory specialises in shirt manufacturing and
style variations are less.
As the number of operations in the shirt is more hence the number of machines
required is more. This led to increase in the machine time required which is 59%. As
the more number of machines are present Batch setting time is more which is 24%.
Time delay due to the operator is 6% and the reasons are the same as in case 1.

SMED Implementation

After analysis of the present

process, the SMED Methodology
was implemented. Although a
direct comparison between one
change over with another cannot
be compared as the product may
not be identical but comparison
was done between similar styles.
Style Change over started as the
Run Down time reached its peak
which not only reduced the Set Up
time but also reduced the Style
Changeover time overall..

It is observed that after

implementation of SMED the Style
changeover time got considerably reduced. The internal elements were converted
to external elements and the external elements started as the Run Down Time
reached its peak. Batch setting planning was meticulously pre planned and waiting
time got drastically reduced. Machine setting time was 113 minutes for 42
operations after SMED implementation against 90 minutes for 25 operations before
SMED implementation.

Parallel activities of demonstration lowered the demonstration time although the

number of operations is more. Spare machines were efficiently used for external
elements.
Conclusion

Style Change over time can be greatly reduced by application of SMED

methodology with minimum financial implication. SMED can further increase the
productivity of Set Up time and make Run down Time productive.The case study
reveals that there are 5 main factors affecting style change over time in garment
manufacturing units in India, they are Machine time, Batch Setting time,
Demonstration time, and Time delay due to operators. The time required for each
factor is affected by the variations in style of the product between two subsequent
batches which is evident from the above cases.
 Non-Apparel Case Study
Application of SMED Methodology- A Case Study in Small
Scale Industry (Rahul et al., 2012)

The main objective of this paper is to reduce cycle time of an operation by using
SMED. This Study is carried out in one of the automotive industries.
Problem Statement
The machining production line with 2 VMC’s and 2 HMC’s handles five variants of
the component. Each machine has an operator assigned to it. The cycle time for the
bottle-neck operation is 8 minutes. There seems to be enough scope for reducing
this cycle time. The output of about 50-55 pcs/shift and 168 pcs/day i.e.168 *
25=4200 pcs/month

Methodology
Statistical data collection methods for measuring machine setup time in assembly
line A operation was used in this study to summarize and describe the data.
Production process flow and standard operation procedure were reviewed briefly
before setting up the data collection table.
The next step is to create a data collection table prior to collecting data and the
time taken was measured using a stopwatch. Based on the actual production, data
was collected and recorded on a daily basis. Subsequently, a statistical bar chart
was drawn to monitor and analyse the problems. This identified the main
contributor to high time loss and helped to visualize and better understand the
root causes and finding possible solutions to the problems.

The entire Operation Procedure with detailed analysis is reviewed. Data was taken
for the entire 30 days . The cycle time data for each process performed was taken
to ensure data accuracy and to observe data variation in each cycle time reading

Findings and Conclusion

After the SMED technique was applied to the bottleneck operation, the total time
taken to perform the operation was decreased by 20 percent from 480 sec to 385
sec. The company started producing the number of components increased from 168
to 176 per day and Number of Components per month increased from 4200 to 4400.
The Cost reduction of about 30% is achieved by application of SMED.
Key to the development of a future value stream map is the analysis of takt time as
opposed to the cycle time. Takt time is the level of customer demand which is
measured in terms of time. Cycle times are how frequently a part or component is
completed by a specific process in the value stream.

The takt times and cycle times should then be charted and compared for each
process in the value stream. Takt should also be used within the pacesetter process
which means that the actual performance and what is achieved needs to be
compared to the planned performance. This is often summarised as being the stage
of identifying the ‘reality versus planned’ performance.

When devising the future value stream the process boxes that are drawn up need to
connect to the other process boxes immediately adjacent, so that there is a flow
throughout the process. (ValueStreamGuru, 2021)

Using Value Stream Mapping at Apparel Industry

This is a case study that was carried out to see the implementation of VSM in an
apparel company. The company has been producing outerwear in Istanbul since
1995 and employs 150 workers. After choosing the product family the current state
map was drawn from which the production lead time was calculated which was
27-33 weeks.
Based on the current state map, gap areas were located, based on the same changes
were proposed and implemented. In the future state map there is a 84,8% reduction
in production lead time and 16-20 weeks reduction in total lead-time. Work in
process inventory was drastically reduced at every stage of production process.
(AKÇAGÜN et al., 2012)
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