{"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":"2025-12-23T09:46:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T08:46:45","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\u00a0SMED 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 changeover should take less than 10 minutes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SMED step-by-step&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The SMED\u00a0plan to reduce the changeover time of a system consists of 7 steps. These are as follows:\u00a0<\/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;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A distinction must be made between \u2018externals\u2019 and \u2018internals\u2019.&nbsp;An external is something that can be prepared in advance, whereas&nbsp;an internal can only be executed when the production line is at standstill;&nbsp;<\/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;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Optimise the remaining internals so they go faster and reduce waste. 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&nbsp;during the preparation;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Document the new procedure&nbsp;in&nbsp;a&nbsp;clear and&nbsp;well-defined guidebook. This way you can see what needs to be done in the future;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/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.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Change-friendly design according to the SMED method&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Change-friendly design is very important for the efficiency during an SMED project.\u00a0By standardising sizes, for instance, there will be less need for changes when switching series. In addition, attention can be paid to the order of groups:\u00a0if a dairy factory first produces the ordinary yoghurt and then the yoghurt with strawberries, no pipes need to be cleaned in between.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The abbreviation\u00a0SMED 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=\"description\" content=\"Discover the SMED method to drastically reduce setup times and boost efficiency. Read more and start improving your production flow today!\" \/>\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_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SMED Method - theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the SMED method to drastically reduce setup times and boost efficiency. Read more and start improving your production flow today!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-01T12:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-23T08:46:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michel Doppert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michel Doppert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michel Doppert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/75e42f2b8bd1d45a9db25d5f97699b4c\"},\"headline\":\"SMED Method\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-01T12:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-23T08:46:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/\"},\"wordCount\":340,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"SMED\",\"Lean Six Sigma Topics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/library\/smed-method\/\",\"name\":\"SMED Method - theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theleansixsigmacompany.com\/uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-01T12:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-23T08:46:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover the SMED method to drastically reduce setup times and boost efficiency. 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