Long changeovers can make it difficult to keep production moving and respond to customer orders. Time spent finding tools, preparing materials, or adjusting equipment adds up, especially if your team changes jobs several times a day.
Setup reduction helps manufacturers shorten those transitions and make them more predictable. It starts with understanding how a changeover happens and identifying what the team can prepare, simplify, or organize.
What Is Setup Reduction?
Setup reduction is the process of reducing the time needed to switch from producing one product or part to the next. A useful measure is the time between the last good part of the previous run and the first good part of the next run.
You may hear the term SMED, or Single-Minute Exchange of Dies. This method, developed by Shigeo Shingo, aims for changeovers in fewer than ten minutes. The principles can be applied to many types of equipment and production processes. Each operation can use them to work toward a shorter, repeatable changeover.
Why Shorter Changeovers Matter
Long setups often encourage manufacturers to produce large batches to spread setup time across more parts. That can tie up cash and floor space in inventory, while other orders wait for their turn.
Shorter changeovers make smaller batches more practical. Teams can switch jobs more frequently, produce closer to customer demand, and reduce the amount of unfinished product waiting between operations. When changeovers become more consistent, production schedules are easier to plan and available equipment time can be used more effectively.
How to Start Reducing Setup Time
Choose a recurring changeover that causes delays or limits capacity. Involve the operators who perform it and the people who support them.
1. Observe the full changeover
Watch the process and record each step and how long it takes. Include time spent walking, searching, waiting, making adjustments, and checking the first parts. Ask operators where they encounter problems.
2. Identify what can be prepared in advance
Some tasks require stopped equipment, such as replacing tooling. These are called internal setup tasks. Others, called external setup tasks, can happen safely while the current job is running. Gathering tools, checking the next job’s instructions, and staging materials are common examples.
3. Simplify the remaining work
Look for ways to reduce repeated adjustments, improve tool placement, and make equipment settings easier to reproduce. Where appropriate, assign clear roles so team members can complete tasks at the same time. Maintain required safety procedures and quality checks throughout the changeover.
4. Document and test the improved process
Create clear instructions or a checklist, train everyone who performs the setup, and measure several changeovers. Review what still causes delays and continue refining the process. Check that shorter setup times also support consistent quality.
A Manufacturing Example
At a specialty metals operation, long changeovers made smaller production batches difficult. A press required a two-hour setup, and a mill required four hours.
Through setup reduction, the team shortened the press setup to 15 minutes and the mill setup to 20 minutes. Improvements included organizing tooling and addressing an electrical disconnect that slowed the mill changeover.
These changes helped the team produce smaller batches and improve material flow. OMEP consultants help manufacturers apply the same approach to make better use of equipment time and respond more effectively to customer needs.
Find a Starting Point in Your Operation
If changeovers are affecting output or delivery, OMEP can help you evaluate the process and identify practical improvements. Our consultants work alongside Oregon manufacturers and their teams to build a repeatable approach that fits their operational needs and remains viable long after the project ends.
Request your no-cost, no-obligation discovery call with one of our OMEP consultants today by completing the form below.