– Back to Lean Glossary –

Single Minute Exchange of Dies: What Is It?

SMED or Single Minute Exchange of Dies refers to the aim of reducing changeover time at workstations to single digit minutes (so no more than 9).

Shigeo Shingo developed the key ideas about SMED in manufacturing, which were:

1. Separate Internal Setup operations and External setup operations
2. Internal setup operations can only be done when a machine is stopped
3. External setup operations can be done while the machine is running
4. Convert Internal Setup Operations to External to reduce setup time.

While the original ideas related to manufacturing, Quick Changeover techniques can be applied to any industry where changeovers apply.  As well as using Shingo’s insights, we could use these four simple steps:

1. Map the current changeover process
2. Reduce wasteful steps and movements as per the Eight Wastes
3. Utilise 5s to ensure items are close at hand and easy to find, and;
4. Create a new standard process to improve the time

The benefit of using these steps is that time is improved but quality is not sacrificed – in fact in many cases quality may improve as well.

By David McLachlan

– Back to Lean Glossary –