IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)

e-ISSN: 2278-1684,p-ISSN: 2320-334X

PP. 36-41
www.iosrjournals.org

SMED Implementation in a Press Shop

T.G.Arul1, A.Manimaran2, P.Ranjith3
1
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, CVR College of Engineering, Ibrahimpatnam,
R.R.District, Hyderabad -501510, Telangana, India
2Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech Technical University, Avadi, Chennai-600062,
Tamilnadu, India.
3Junior Works Manager, Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, Chennai-600054,
Tamilnadu, India,

Abstract: Globalisation has brought in cut throat competition in Indian Manufacturing Industries. To improve
competitiveness, they started implementing operations management techniques like Lean Manufacturing, Total
Quality Management (TQM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), etc. Single Minute Exchange of Die
(SMED) is a lean manufacturing technique to setup time reduction that can be applied in any factory to any
machine, originally introduced by Prof. Shigeo Shingo in
Japanese industries in the 1950s and it is one of the principal elements of Toyota Production System (TPS) [8].
It was observed that the setup change takes 76 minutes in a 300T press shop, which is very high. Hence, it is
decided to apply SMED concepts to reduce the setup changeover time and increase the Overall Equipment
Effectiveness (OEE). Implementation of SMED involves five major steps viz., Evaluation of Current State of
Changeover Process, Determination of Internal setup (Inside Exchange of Die) and External Setup (Outside
Exchange of Die) operations, Conversion of Internal setup (IED) to External Setup (OED) operations,
Streamlining Internal setup (IED) and External Setup (OED) operations and Standardization of complete setup
change over process. SMED techniques like Standardised functions, Use of functional clamps, elimination
fasteners altogether, Adopting parallel operations, Elimination of adjustments and Mechanisation have played a
vital role in conversion of internal setup (IED) to external setup (OED). After implementation of SMED
methodology, the setup changeover time is reduced from 76 minutes to a single digit minute, which has resulted
in increased Availability that has lead to a significant increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
Keywords: SMED; Internal setup; IED; External Setup; OED; Setup changeover; Overall Equipment
Effectiveness (OEE); Availability; Flexibility.

I. Introduction
Globalisation has brought in cut throat competition in Indian Manufacturing Industries. To improve
competitiveness, they started implementing operations management techniques like Just In Time (JIT), Total
Quality Management (TQM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), etc. which resulted in increased
productivity, quality, flexibility and reduced cost & delivery time. Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is a
scientific approach to setup time reduction that can be applied in any factory to any machine, originally
introduced by Prof. Shigeo Shingo in Japanese industries in the 1950s and it is one of the principal elements of
Toyota Production System (TPS). SMED is one of the lean manufacturing techniques implementation of which
leads to increased Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) by increasing the availability and increased
flexibility by reducing waste in a manufacturing process due to setup changeover time, reduced cost by reducing
the inventory. It provides a rapid and efficient way of converting a manufacturing process from running the
current product to running the next product. This rapid changeover is the key to reducing production lot sizes
and thereby improving flow. The phrase "single minute" does not mean that all changeovers and start-ups
should take only one minute, but that they should take less than 10 minutes (in other words, "single digit
minute") [10].

II. Literature Survey

Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is a comprehensive methodology that has often reduced
setup times which took hours to less than ten minutes [1]. The implicit operating rules of the Toyota Production
System (TPS) and its methodologies lead to lean tools such as Just In Time (JIT), SMED and Kaizen
events[2][3]. Reducing lead time increases the overall capacity for future orders and customer demand [1]
[4][5]. In a continuous flow production environment raw materials are converted through operations into the
finished product. These individual operations directly impact the overall time it takes to complete a finished
assembly and fill a customer order [6]. The adoption and implementation of single minute exchange of dies
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 SMED Implementation in a Press Shop

(SMED) concept is a commonly used method to improve the overall setup process [4] [5]. SMED
implementations allow for increased production capacity without adding additional equipment [5] [7]. Some of
the SMED terminologies are discussed below:
 Setup Changeover: Time elapsed between the last piece in the run just completed until the first good piece
from the process after changeover [10].
 External Setup or Outside Exchange of Die (OED):- That part of setup which can be done while the
machine is still running [10].
 Internal Setup or Inside Exchange of Die (IED):- That part of setup which must be done while the machine
is shutdown [10].
 Flexibility: To be able to respond very quickly to changing market demands, you need to be able to produce
small lot sizes in an a economical way [9].
 Bottleneck Capacities: Reducing setup times increases the available capacity, Which can be interesting as
an alternatives to buying new equipment or installing an extra shift in situations where the market demand
increases [9].
 Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) = Equipment Availability x Performance Efficiency x Rate of
Quality Products

SMED methodology is adopted to reduce the setup changeover time and increase the Overall Equipment
Effectiveness (OEE).

III. Smed Implementation In Press Shop: A Case Study

Step 1: Evaluation of Current State of Changeover Process.
In this paper SMED concept is applied for reduction of setup change over in a 300 ton press shop which consist
of a Mechanical & a Hydraulic press. It was observed that OEE of press shop found to be very low (0.58). (OEE
= 0.69 x 0.86 x 0.97 = 0.58) Availability was found to be very low (69%) when compared to Performance (86%)
& Quality (97%). A detailed Pareto Analysis (Figure-I) was done on Availability losses and it is found that loss
due to Setup change over is vital.

untrained, less skilled operators finds it difficult to change internal dies quickly as the operation
sequence may go wrong. The losses in setup changeover is given in a cause and effect diagram (Figure-II) (also
known as Ishikawa diagrams that can reveal key relationships among various variables, and the possible causes
provide additional insight into process behavior) and 5 why analysis (an iterative question-asking technique
used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem)

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 SMED Implementation in a Press Shop

Figure-II Cause and Effect Diagram of Losses in Setup Changeover

Current State of setup Changeover Process was evaluated & element wise time of setup change for 76 minutes
was listed. It is observed that the entire setup changeover process was carried out after stoppage of machines
(i.e. IED- 76 minutes & OED- 0 minute)

Step 2: Determination of Internal and External

Setup Processes
The second step consisted of determining the internal setup (IED) and external setup (IED) processes.
This consisted of classifying each individual task from step one and categorizing them into internal and external
processes. Based on a thorough study of elemental activities of setup changeover are Separated into Internal
setup of 37 minutes (Inside Exchange of Die) and External Setup of 39 minutes (Outside Exchange of Die)
operations. Details of activities which are indentified as External setup (OED) are given below (Table II):

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 SMED Implementation in a Press Shop

Step 3: Conversion of Internal and External Setup Processes

Focus is shifted to Conversion of Internal setup (IED) operations of 37 minutes to External Setup (OED)
operations. Operations were re- examined to see whether any operation is wrongly assumed as internal setup and
different ways were found to convert internal setup into external. Details of techniques applied for conversion of
internal to external setup are given below:

1st by adopting parallel operations technique two persons were deployed in each press and ensured that work
content is properly balanced and setup change takes place in both the presses simultaneously.

2nd by applying the technique called “Standardised functions”, clamping pitch and clamping heights are
standardized using common base plate for all press tools (Figure-III). It has resulted in reduction of internal
setup time from 37 to 31 minutes.
Figure-iii Use of Common Base Plate

3rd by applying the technique called “Elimination of adjustments”, Pin changeover in mechanical press is
eliminated by adopting No Touch Exchange Method (Figure-IV), which has result in reduction of internal
setup time from 31 to 20 minutes and clamping heights are standardized using common base plate for all press
tools (Figure-III). It has resulted in reduction of internal setup time from 37 to 31 minutes.

Figure-IV Elimination of Pin change over by adopting NTED

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 SMED Implementation in a Press Shop

4th by applying the technique called “Use of functional clamps or elimination fasteners altogether”, hydraulic
clamping is introduced and usage of manual T-bolts are eliminated (Figure-V), which has resulted in reduction
of internal setup time from 21 to 9.5 minutes

Figure-V Hydraulic clamping introduced

5th by applying “mechanisation” technique, manual tilting of conveyor tray is changed to pneumatic operated
(Figure-VI), Which has resulted in reduction of internal setup time from 9.5 to 9 minutes.

Figure-VI Pneumatically Operated Conveyor Tray

Step 4: Streamlining Internal And External Setup Processes

A concentrated effort was made to stream line the internal and external setup operations. A detailed analysis of
each elemental operation is done. Elemental activities of Setup change over are clearly specified as internal and
external setup operations. Proper training is imparted the operators based on skill matrix.

Step 5: Standardization Of Entire Setup CHANGEOVER PROCESS

Step five involves of standardization of (both internal and external setup operations) entire setup change over
process. Due to the complexity of having multiple assembly procedures with specific changeover operations
and three separate shifts standardized changeover documents specific to each process step is written and
controlled. These documents include step by step instructions of setup operations and line clearance activities
specific to the individual assembly station. In addition to the creation of the changeover documents all operators
are formally trained. A standard training presentation was given to each shift. To ensure a consistent transfer of
training anyone who absent during these training sessions are trained by means of “internal training” procedure
which allows them to review and sign post formal training session. After the formal training sessions each
employee will conduct a review of each document and sign off on training rosters. A controlled master copy of
each changeover document and applicable training roster will be posted at each assembly station for reference
and use during each future state changeover.

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 SMED Implementation in a Press Shop

IV. Results And Discussion

After implementation of SMED methodology, the setup changeover time is reduced from 76 to 9
minutes (i.e. 88% reduction), which resulted 39% increase in Availability from 0.69 to 0.96 that had lead to 38%
increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) from 0.58 to 0.8. (OEE= 0.96 x 0.86 x 0.97 = 0.8). It has
resulted in enhanced capacity, increased Flexibility and reduced inventory of press shop.
With the above, it can be concluded that by implementation of SMED methodology and its techniques
like separation of internal from external operations and conversion of internal to external operations,
Standardised functions, Use of functional clamps, elimination of fasteners, Adopting parallel operations,
Elimination of adjustments and Mechanisation, it is possible to reduce setup change over time in any factory in
any machine from several hours to a single digit minute.

References
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