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(+)+(+)
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) The Lean Changeover e-letter
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) Published monthly by Changeover.com
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) Written by John R Henry, CPP
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) JANUARY 2009
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) Replies, inquires and feedback to
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What do you plan to do in 2009 to reduce
changeover losses? Is this the year you are finally going to get serious?

There is no better way to kickstart a changeover
program than my "Changeover made ESEE" workshop.
This 2 day workshop is a goldmine of practical
information as well as a hands-on putting the info to work in your plant.

Call 787-550-9650 or e-mail john@...
NOW to schedule a session in your plant.

Line downtime costs $0000s/hour. How many dollars can you afford to waste?


InterPhex Puerto Rico is next Thursday and Friday
(1/29 & 30) If you are there Friday, I’ll be
around and would be happy to buy you a cup of
coffee. Call my cell (787-550-9650) Even better,
come hear me on Friday. I will be presenting a
talk on “Optimizing Throughput: High Speed
Packaging Lines Updates and Case Studies” . You
can find more info at
<http://www.interphexpuertorico.com/>www.interphexpuertorico.com
Click on the “conferences” link in the left sidebar.



SOME THOUGHTS ON…
SMED

In the 1960’s Toyota Motors had a problem. They
made inexpensive cars for the mass market. Costs
were kept down by limiting variety of models and
styles. This was in keeping with their guru,
Henry Ford’s, philosophy of avoiding changeover.
The market was changing and customers demanded
cars that better fit their individual needs and
tastes. Toyota realized that they needed to find
a way to satisfy these wants while, at the same time, keeping costs down.

Shigeo Shingo was a consulting industrial
engineer and Toyota brought him in to solve this
apparent conundrum. The initial assignment was to
reduce the time it took to change the dies in
stamping presses. When he began the project,
changeovers took 10-12 hours. When he finally
finished, several phases and years later, die
changeovers took under 10 minutes. Shingo did
nothing magic, he simply applied fairly standard
techniques that are in every industrial
engineer’s toolbox. It has always seemed to me
that Shingo’s big breakthrough was his
application of these tools to changeover.

Shingo did what any good IE would do, he observed
the process to see where time was being lost. One
key area was standardization of external die
dimensions. Each die was a different size,
depending on its purpose. This necessitated
adjustment of the press shut height, mountings
and more. Shingo standardized external die sizes
by adding shims and spacers, permanently mounted
to the dies. Now, there was no adjustment
required to the press. One die was removed and
the next slipped into its place.

That, by itself, would result in considerable
savings. But that was not all that improved.
Since the dies were the same, the mounting bolts
were the same. Previous practice had wasted a lot
of time looking for the correct mounting bolts
for each die size. Standardizing the size
eliminated the need for different bolts.
Adjustments to the press required a high level of
skill and brought risk of damage if not done
correctly. Elimination of adjustment allowed less
skilled (and more available) workers to perform
the changeover while reducing risk of damage.

Standard die sizes also facilitated specialized
handling systems to manage the heavy dies, saving even more time.

One of the things that amazes me is that this
idea now seems so obvious that I have trouble
understanding why it was not seen earlier. What
amazes me even more is that I go into plants
today that have different size dies, molds and other changeable parts.

A second big breakthrough by Shingo was the
concept of externalization. When he started the
project, the mechanic would typically stop the
press and only then go to fetch the dies and
other parts required for the next part to be
made. Shingo realized that this could be done
ahead of time, while the press was still running.
This concept of externalization says that to the
maximum extent possible, all changeover tasks
should be done either before machine stops or
after it restarts. In other words “external” to
the downtime. This is also such a simple and
obvious concept that I am amazed on a daily basis
that it is not more widely practiced.

Shingo developed his ideas into a system that he
called SMED for Single Minute Exchange of Dies.
One misconception is that by “single minute” he
meant under 1 minute. As he explains in his book
“A Revolution In Manufacturing: The SMED System”,
he meant single digits of minutes or under 10 minutes.

I take my hat off to Shingo in admiration. He
truly showed the way to a revolution in
manufacturing by treating changeover as a
solvable problem rather than a necessary evil
that must be accepted. His techniques are simple
in concept yet universally applicable. Most of
all, I thank him for sharing the ideas with us
rather than keeping them locked up as proprietary company information.

Having said all this, I do think that there is
one area that is neglected in the book. This may
be because it was not an issue at Toyota at the
time but it is am important issue in virtually
every company I have ever worked with.
Changeover, properly defined, addresses the total
process of getting from product A to product B. A
program to reduce changeover must address the
physical changeover of the machinery, of course,
and this was Shingo’s main focus. Equally
important, in some cases even more critical, are
operational issues. It does no good to reduce
changeover time from 4 to 1 hours if it still
takes 3 hours for the warehouse to issue the
materials. Much of my practice is in the
pharmaceutical industry and I see a lot of time
lost where the line is ready to run but the
documentation to run the next lot is not yet available.

I teach that there are two paths to lean
changeover, one mechanical, the other
operational. Focusing on only one or the other
will seldom yield the results you need.

“A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System”
is a wonderful book. Anyone involved in any
manufacturing process should read and study it.
It was written for heavy, metal bending,
processes and some people fail to see the
applicability to lighter processes such as
packaging, plastic molding or assembly. This is a
mistake for it is the concepts more than the
examples that are the key and the concepts are universally applicable.

The book is available from Productivity Press at
<http://www.productivitypress.com/>www.productivitypress.com
A companion book, “Quick Changeover for
Operators” is part of their Shop Floor series.
This is a simplified version of Shingo’s book and
is an excellent introduction for operators,
mechanics, technicians and others who want to
learn the basics of the SMED system.

TIP OF THE MONTH…
INTERNAL LADDERS

Time is often lost looking for ladders to access
the access points on top of machines. Even worse,
time is not looking for ladders and people will
stand on chairs, pipes or other convenient
objects creating an unsafe condition.

Steps, stairs and ladders can be built right into
machines as needed to assure that they are always
available. For example, a small (12” X 18”)
platform might be mounted 18” off the floor to
stand on. This can be hinged so that it folds out
of the way when not in use. Another alternative I
have seen is to weld crossmembers to a machine frame forming a ladder.

Note that while these are intended to avoid a
safety hazard, they can create a hazard
themselves if not properly designed. If going
this route, be sure to consult with your safety gurus.

Also, I probably should not need to say this but
experience shows me that I do. Be sure to use
non-skid surfaces on any ladders or steps.


Best,

John R Henry CPP
www.changeover.com
787-550-9650
"All progress is made by a lazy person looking
for an easier way." - Lazarus Long
Best,

John R Henry CPP

www.changeover.com
787-550-9650

"All progress is made by a lazy person looking
for an easier way." - Lazarus Long