Are you in for a quick change?
You must have heard of the Shingo Award.
Improvement usually means doing something that we have never done before. – Shigeo Shingo
Shigeo Shingo was a Japanese industrial engineer, considered the world’s leading expert on manufacturing practices and the Toyota system. He contributed to the formalization of certain aspects of the management philosophy, known as the Toyota production system, developed and applied in Japan in the 1950s and later applied in many companies around the world.
In 1970, he formulated the SMED system (Single Minute Exchange of Dies).
In 1988, his life achievements were recognized and shaped into the Shingo Award. The award promotes world-class productions and companies that achieve excellent business results. Its philosophy lies in the fact that world-class performance can be achieved through concrete improvements in the production cycle and business processes.
“Shingo model je potpuno novi način razmišljanja!”
What does the SMED system represent?
The SMED system is designed and engineered to reduce the time required to make a particular change. The essence is that changes are made in the shortest possible time during the work itself.
According to research, if properly applied, the SMED system results in a reduction change time of 94%.
There are two types of elements in the SMED process, namely:
- Internal
- External
By eliminating the internal or turning internal into an external element, the use and utilization of equipment, i.e., machines, is maximized. Let’s take into account the types of actions that are taken to reduce time. It is primarily a matter of more efficient time management and organization according to the action taken while the machine is running.
Separation of internal and external elements and their proper implementation already contribute enough to reduce the time required to act.
The rapid change from one product to another results in increased revenue, reduced costs, increased customer satisfaction, and ensures a smooth flow of the process itself.
Implementation of the SMED system
There are five steps to consider before introducing a SMED system, as follows:
- Pilot area – test area. Namely, it is necessary to monitor how much time is needed to achieve a specific improvement through this step. This step includes all employees involved in the selection process and those who will work on the change itself.
- Analysis – represent a detailed insight into each step taken through the process of change itself, as well as insight into the average time required to perform each of these steps.
- Separation of external elements – includes inspection and quality control and certain types of cleaning that can be done safely while the machine is running. At this stage, the time of change has already been halved. After completing this step, the list of transition elements is updated.
- Identification of places where internal elements can be turned into external ones – several techniques enable this step: prepare the necessary parts in advance; make all the required adjustments before work; equipment modification; equipment modularization.
- Simplify the process – standardize tools, reorganize the space and things in it, and take place with minimal movements. After this step, it is necessary to update the standardized operating instructions.
The application of the above leads to the complete introduction of changes. And the repetition of these steps leads to the improvement of the procedure itself. This enables the minimization of waste, better utilization of resources, and a time during the working day.
Do you already notice the benefits of introducing the SMED system?
We are here to be a part of your growth and development!
If you think it is the right time to organize and implement the SMED system in your company, feel free to contact us at info@organination.com. We will be happy to provide you with all the necessary information and instructions.
