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(+)+(+) S.M.I.L.E(sm)
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(+)+(+) Setup Minimization Improves Line Efficiency
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) The Quick Changeover e-letter
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(+)+(+) Published monthly by Changeover.com
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(+)+(+) Written by John R Henry, CPP
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### SEPTEMBER 2003
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The tag line for the current advertising campaign for Las Vegas is "What
happens here stays here". Next month there will be an exception. If you
attend PackExpo, you can come to my presentation and get some good
information that you can take home with you. I will be speaking Monday on
the topic "Changeover: At the Intersection of Mass and Lean". I will be
focusing on how to resolve the conflict between mass customization
(producing more and more specialized products for market niches) and lean
manufacturing. My feelings will be hurt if you attend and don't come up to
say hello. I'll be around the show Monday through Wednesday so if you would
like to just howdy and shake, call my cell at 787/550-9650 and we can link up.

More info at http://pelv2003.packexpo.com/pelv2003/content/solutions.shtml

SOME THOUGHTS ON...
GENERAL APPLICABILITY OF CHANGEOVER REDUCTION

A while back I got a call from a company wanting me to help them reduce
their changeover times. Specifically, they wanted me to present my
"Achieving Quick Changeover" workshop to their employees. I was somewhat
hesitant at first since they are in an industry which I knew nothing about
and I didn't know how applicable my materials and knowledge would be. We
discussed this and their feeling was that they knew their process fairly
well but what they were looking for was fresh ideas. On that basis I agreed
to facilitate my "Achieving Quick Changeover" workshop.

What amazed me at the time, though perhaps it shouldn't have, was how much
similarity there was, changeover-wise, between their process and the
packaging processes to which I am more accustomed. The included both the
market forces driving them toward more varied products and smaller runs but
also to the techniques that we employed in improving their process.

First of all is the trend to mass customization. There may still be a few
plants out there that have the luxury of dedicated lines or processes but
more and more companies are needing to do more and more changeovers to
satisfy their customers' ever increasing demand for customized products.

It is not enough to make a wide variety of products. Companies are under
great pressure to do it ever more cheaply. There is an inherent conflict
here in that a wider variety of products will generally drive costs up. At
the same time, market pressures drive the price that can be charged down.
Nobody ever said life was simple.

Inventory is expensive, typically costing 30% or so in carrying costs.
Reducing inventory levels, especially while producing a greater variety of
products, means more frequent changeovers. If the old school, l o o o o n
g, changeover remains in place, total downtime will go through the roof and
capacity utilization through the floor.

Which brings us to the problem of capacity utilization. Manufacturers are
constantly being asked to do more with less. If a line spends 2 hours per
day (25%0 of it's time down for changeover, reducing changeover by an hour
will give an immediate 12.5% bump in plant capacity. For free. No new
equipment, no new facilities, no new people.

Customers used to be satisfied, or at least willing, to wait for their
orders. No more. In addition to low price they are demanding quick
turnaround. Reducing changeover times will help achieve this.

So what about achieving quick changeover, is the process itself universal?
I would say yes. It's fairly simple, really. Not easy and perhaps not quick
but simple nonetheless. Begin by looking at a typical changeover. Write
down everything that is done, breaking it down into the smallest possible
steps. Working from a video of the changeover will probably be easier than
trying to do it in real time. (I have a short article on using video.
E-mail me at john@... if you would like a copy.) Once the
changeover has been broken down, start analyzing each step:

Eliminate-Is the step really necessary? Is there some way it can be
eliminated?

Externalize-Can the step be done externally to the changeover, either
before or after? For example, are tools, parts and materials staged at the
line prior to shutdown or is time lost looking for them during the changeover?

Simplify-Can the step be simplified. If tools are required, can they be
eliminated?

Quantify-Perhaps the single most important step in reducing changeover
time, or at least the wasted time spent trying to fine tune the line after
re-start, is to make sure that every adjustment can be made to an accurate
and repeatable set-point. Scales, gauges, digital indicators and other
devices can be very helpful here.

In short, though processes, practices and equipment will vary widely from
plant to plant and industry to industry, my experience is that at it's
heart there is a high degree in both the commonality of the problems as
well as the techniques to resolve them. It is no good to say "Our industry
is different". It really isn't.


TIP OF THE MONTH...
PM OF CHANGEPARTS


Most plants have preventive maintenance programs for their manufacturing
and plant equipment. I have never seen, or at least noticed, a PM program
for changeparts. (Changeparts are those production machine components which
are product specific and are swapped out during changeover. An example
would be a capper chuck for a specific cap size/style.) Many changeparts
have bearings, motors, belts or other wearing components incorporated
within them. When this is the case, they need PM as much as the basic
machine. A $2.00 bearing failure on a capper chuck might cause thousands of
dollars of downtime if it happens during production. Excessive play in the
bushing of a labeler timing screw may prevent the product from being
precisely placed and labeled.

Parts will wear and when they do, they need to be replaced. The question is
when this replacement will happen. There are a several ways it is normally
done:

1) Part of the changeover SOP can be to examine the parts and repair them
if necessary. Even is this is done ahead of changeover when the changeparts
sets are being pulled for the next product, it can cause delays in the
changeover.

2) The changeover SOP can specify examination of the parts after they are
removed. Work orders can then be generated as necessary. The mechanic
often has no time for this as they need to get on to the next task. It may
be possible to have the toolroom attendee do it.

3) Wait till the part breaks, probably at a critical point of production,
and fix it while the production manager is screaming to get the line
running. This will often assure that any repair is hastily done and temporary.

4) Place the changeparts into the regular PM system to assure that they get
looked at, under reduced time pressure, on a routine basis. If repairs are
required, they can be carried out correctly.

I know. Step #4 seems pretty obvious and perhaps some of you are already
doing this. On the other hand, I am constantly running across things that
seem obvious but only after I have seen someone who did it. Routine PM of
changeparts seems like a no-brainer yet I know of only a single plant that
does it.

NOTE: Last month I gave a link to a glossary of lean manufacturing terms
which I have found very useful. This was a glossary that one of my students
had found and for which I was unable to find any further information as to
author etc. Since publishing the link here here, I have found that it
originally came from Bill Kluck's NorthWest Lean site at www.nwlean.net
There is lots of other good information there and I would encourage you to
visit.



Best,

John R Henry CPP