All efforts to reduce set-up times are often summarized under the keyword SMED. The basic principle of set-up time reduction is to only do what is absolutely necessary on stationary machines. These tasks are referred to as internal set-up and are distinguished from external set-up. Set-up time reduction measures are often carried out on machines where they are not necessary. This is always the case when the marginal costs of scaffolding are very low or when sufficient capacity is available.
Our tip for SMED optimization:
It is better to carry out setup optimization primarily for bottleneck machines. The time gained here can be used to reduce the production batch sizes at the bottleneck. In this way, work in progress can be reduced, throughput times shortened and material flows made more consistent.
