Case studies in industry and services
Robert S Keyser; Parisa Pooyan
Abstract
In a Lean production environment, reduced setup times can lead to many benefits, including reduced lead times. Previous research has primarily relied on the SMED methodology and mathematical modeling to reduce setup times at machine centers – and both are very useful techniques. We use the Soft ...
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In a Lean production environment, reduced setup times can lead to many benefits, including reduced lead times. Previous research has primarily relied on the SMED methodology and mathematical modeling to reduce setup times at machine centers – and both are very useful techniques. We use the Soft Systems Methodology, combined with the Seven Tools of Quality, to provide a structured, illustrative means for diagnosing production and quality issues. A baseline average setup time was established by which future setup times would be compared. The intervention included brainstorming sessions between management and the converting center work crew that disclosed many reasons for increased setup times, some of which were under management’s control. Our findings resulted in a 24% reduction in average setup times and a 62% reduction in the moving range at a bottleneck machine center in the corrugated box industry.
Manufacturing and Logistics
Robert S. Keyser; Renee S. Severin; Matthew J. Geiger
Abstract
The Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) methodology proved to be an effective approach for reducing setup times on a bottleneck 66” Koppers rotary die-cutter machine center in a corrugated box plant. Root cause analysis techniques, such as a check sheet and control charts, aided the analysis. ...
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The Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) methodology proved to be an effective approach for reducing setup times on a bottleneck 66” Koppers rotary die-cutter machine center in a corrugated box plant. Root cause analysis techniques, such as a check sheet and control charts, aided the analysis. The supervisor and work crew, consisting of both the operator and setup person, played an integral role in reducing setup times by consenting to being videotaped during a typical setup and then breaking down the video to distinguish internal versus external steps. By converting many internal steps to external steps, average setup times were reduced from 55 minutes to 32 minutes, a 42% improvement.
