{"id":15103,"date":"2021-01-01T13:06:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-01T12:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/?p=15103"},"modified":"2025-09-22T14:27:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T13:27:06","slug":"smed-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/","title":{"rendered":"SMED Method"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The abbreviation&nbsp;SMED stands for Single Minute Exchange of Dies and was conceived by the Japanese Shigeo Shingo, an industrial engineer at Toyota. The SMED method strives for a fast and efficient way to change a production process. By \u201cchange\u201d we mean the set of activities required to switch from a current production order to a new production order. The SMED method indicates that each change-over should take less than 10 minutes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SMED step-by-step\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The SMED&nbsp;plan to reduce the change-over time of a system consists of 7 steps. These are as follows:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The current working method must be critically examined. For example, a film could be made in which you analytically look at the working method through the eyes of the 7 wastages;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A distinction must be made between \u2018externals\u2019 and \u2018internals\u2019.\u00a0An external is something that can be prepared in advance, whereas\u00a0an internal can only be executed when the production line is at standstill;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Convert as many internals as possible to externals. For example, next to the production lines, you can heat up the machine parts in advance;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Optimize\u00a0the remaining internals so they go faster and reduce wastage. For example, you can use faster tools and fewer bolts;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Streamline the externals so they take less time\u00a0during the preparation;\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Document the new procedure\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0clear and\u00a0well-defined guidebook. This way you can see what needs to be done in the future;\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then repeat the entire step-by-step plan again. There are always new things that can be done faster.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Change-friendly design according to the SMED method\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Change-friendly design is very important for the efficiency during a SMED project.&nbsp;By standardizing sizes for instance, there will be less need for change-overs when switching series. In addition, attention can be paid to the order of groups:&nbsp;if a dairy-factory first produces the ordinary yoghurt and then the yogurt with strawberries, no pipes need to be cleaned in between.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The abbreviation&nbsp;SMED stands for Single Minute Exchange of Dies and was conceived by the Japanese Shigeo Shingo, an industrial engineer at Toyota. The SMED method strives for a fast and efficient way to change a production process. By \u201cchange\u201d we mean the set of activities required to switch from a current production order to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-smed","category-lean-six-sigma-topics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SMED Method - theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SMED Method - theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The abbreviation&nbsp;SMED stands for Single Minute Exchange of Dies and was conceived by the Japanese Shigeo Shingo, an industrial engineer at Toyota. The SMED method strives for a fast and efficient way to change a production process. 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