- Equipment Failures
- Setup & Adjustment
- Idling & Minor Stoppages
- Reduced Speed
- Defects in Operation or Process
- Startup & Reduced Yield
Machine availability is the actual time left for production after you subtract all planned downtime.
What Kills Machine Availability ?
- Breakdowns
- Machine Idle Time
- Setup & Adjustment Time
- Minor Stoppages
SMED " Single Minute Exchange of Die " ---> the "single" here means a single digit number of minutes less <>wow is it crazy ? No, everyone can do that if you apply SMED system .
Quick changeovers are critical for any company that want to apply JIT and one piece flow manufacturing system. The SMED will reduce difficult, time consuming and wasteful activities in your company and SMED has been used to reduce setup and turnaround time in all types of manufacturing, assembly and even service industries, from process and packing plants to airlines.
SMED is really about thinking about changeover in new way. Shigeo Shingo, the developer of SMED, learned a great deal by observing what people actually did during changeover and thinking carefully about how the necessary setup work could be done with the shortest possible downtime.
The Benefits of SMED for Companies.
SMED changes the assumption that setups have to take a long time. When setups can be done quickly, they can be done as often as needed. This means companies can make products in smaller lots, which has many advantages :
- Flexibility; Companies can meet changing customer needs without the expense of excess inventory.
- Quicker delivery; Small lot prouction means less lead time and less customer waiting time.
- Better quality; Less inventory storage means fewer storage related defects. SMED also lowers defects by reducing setup errors and elimnating trial runs of the new product and the last is Higher productivity.
