Having problems with message search?
(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)
(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) S.M.I.L.E(sm)
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) Setup Minimization Improves Line Efficiency
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) The Quick Changeover e-letter
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) Published monthly by Changeover.com
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) Written by John R Henry, CPP
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)
(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)+(+)
###############################
###############################
###
### FEBRUARY 2005
###
###############################
###############################
============================================================
This newsletter is a free service of Changeover.com. Visit our website at
http://www.changeover.com or contact us at
john@...
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be
interested
To subscribe send a blank e-mail to: quickchangeover-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe send a blank e-mail to:
quickchangeover-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Past issues are indexed and archived at www.changeover.com/newsletter.htm
=============================================================
A PRESENTATION YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS
The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IOPP) and Packaging World magazine will be sponsoring a 1 hour web seminar by yours truly on February 24. The title of the seminar will be "Achieving Quick Changeover - Effective Pitstops in Your Packaging Plant" and will discuss how to make changeovers more like a racing pitstop.
For more information, visit http://www.iopp.org/pages/index.cfm?pageid=740
Registration is at https://www.iopp.org/forms/form.cfm?id=23
I look forward to seeing you there.
SOME THOUGHTS ON...
STRESS
There are a number of tangible and intangible costs associated with changeover time. Tangible costs are those which can be measured and quantified in money terms. Some of these are direct and obvious such as lost production or direct labor. Others are more subtle such as the impact of lengthy changeovers on inventory levels.
Intangible costs are, by their nature, more difficult to quantify. The fact that they are hard to quantify does not mean that they are not significant. One large and fairly obvious cost is a reduced ability to respond to customer requirements in a timely fashion. Other intangible costs can be more subtle. One of these costs is stress.
There is an old saying that "When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is hard to focus on draining the swamp." This holds true for most manufacturing plants. Oftimes there is so much concentration on resolving the daily problems in getting the production out that there is no time for improving the process. Perhaps more important than the lack of time is that stress causes the brain to shut down and there is a limited mental capacity to even think about improvements.
Stress is not only a problem for staff, it is a problem for the machinery as well as for the plant as a whole. Increased stress will result in a number of problems at many levels.
STAFF/WORKFORCE
As mentioned above, stress has the effect of shutting down mental processes, at least partially. While the company loses from this, so does the individual. A basic human need, as important as food and air, is the chance to rise to challenges and to be creative. While making a "push" to get production out in an urgent situation may meet this need for challenge, it gets old pretty quickly. As I have said before, the people doing the work are experts. If they are stressed out, there is no way for the company to get the benefit of that expertise.
Safety will suffer when there is excessive stress. Part of this will come from people not thinking as much as they should about what they are doing. Safety will also suffer as people take shortcuts in an effort to boost production. Take the worker who feels under pressure to get the machine running again quickly after a malfunction or jam. Because of this pressure, they may not take the time to lock/tag it out prior to working on the machine.
Employee health can be affected. Numerous studies have shown that excessive stress can increase a person's susceptibility to illness. This can have a snowball effect as employees take more sick time or, worse, come to work sick and infect others. Having less than a complete workforce on a given day will increase stress levels on others.
Overstressed employees will tend to be grumpier than normal. This can lead to snappishness, reduced cooperation and a more unpleasant general atmosphere between employees.
Some plants have their employees engage in regular (once or twice a shift) anti-stress exercises. These an help and are certainly not a bad thing. However, far better to eliminate the stress, or at lease reduce it, than to try to make it easier to deal with.
MACHINERY
Machinery that is run near, or in some cases past, it's normal design parameters will not run as well. It can suffer from excessive vibration making it hard to keep in adjustment. It can suffer from excessive wear making it hard to get into proper adjustment in the first place. As complex mechanical motions take place at higher and higher speeds, the need for precision of timing and motion increases. This need for more precision combined with the increased sloppiness of the machine is a recipe for decreased quality and even catastrophic failure. In some cases, it may be possible to slow a machine's cycle speed down by as much as 15-25% and actually increase overall good output at the end of the day. The need for getting the production out often blinds people to this possibility. Even when they see it, they may not feel they have time to try experiments with speed vs production.
OTHER PROBLEMS
Excessive stress will have effects away from he production floor as well. The need to get production out may cause quality to accept borderline production rather than forcing the correction of problems.
Another stress related problem is that it will cause lack of innovation and improvement. Not only will the people involved not have the time or ability to think of improvements as mentioned above. When they do, they may not have the time to try them out.
Reducing changeover downtime will free up more time for production. Freeing up more production time will (or at least should) reduce the urgency and consequent stress levels. Some people may believe the way to reduce changeover time is by forcing people to work harder and faster at it. This may result in slight reductions. More likely, what it will do is increase the stress associated with changeover.
Longtime readers of this newsletter will realize that most changeover time reduction comes from reducing the amount of work that goes into changeover. This is done by simplifying and rationalizing the process. In other words, reducing the stress level of changeover will reduce the time consumed. There is a hoary old cliche that says "Work smarter, not harder." The fact that it is a cliche in no way lessens it's truth. Working smarter will reduce changeover times while simultaneously reducing stress.
Industrial plants will always be stressful places. Elimination of stress is not a reasonable goal. Even if it could be eliminated, that might not be a good thing either. Some stress is necessary. It should be reduced to the minimum possible. Reducing the time lost to changeover will reduce stress during both production and during changeover.
TIP OF THE MONTH...
K-MART LIGHT
Some here may remember the old K-Mart and what they called "Blue Light Specials". The stores had carts with flashing blue lights. Periodically the manager would put an item on sale for about 15-30 minutes. The spot sale would be identified by a flashing blue light, visible throughout the store, often accompanied by a siren and an "Attention K-Mart shoppers..." announcement. This same concept may be useful on production lines.
When an operator has a problem it is sometime difficult for them to attract the attention of the mechanic or material handler. They may have to leave their station to go look for them. Some machines may have red stacklights to indicate when the stop. A manually operated light can provide an easy means for the operator to call for help before a small problem develops into a big one. Nothing fancy is required, just a colored light and an on/off switch. Perhaps a push-button and buzzer to get attention.
The key to smooth operations is good communication. This can be a simple, visual, communication aid.
John R Henry CPP
Visit the Quick Changeover website at http://www.changeover.com
Send Email