The single minute exchange of die methodology in a high-mix processing line

Abstract

Because of turbulence in the economic environment, enterprises must react flexibly to the changing demands of their customers. Thus, a changeover process is required. If an enterprise has a large product portfolio, there are basically only two process options; to integrate production into large batches or to change the production programme frequently. Frequent changes associated with the changeover process of machinery are optimized by using the SMED method. The main goal of this paper is to apply SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) to a High-Mix processing line. The case study is undertaken in a flat glass processing company which manufactures hundreds of types of products. The results of the case study demonstrate that it is possible to save up to 30% annually of the time currently spent on changeovers.