Within Lean Six Sigma projects; quick Change Over refers to the ability to quickly start the next work item as soon as the current one is finished.
It originated in manufacturing, where it is more commonly known as SMED: Single-Minute Exchange of Dies, by Shigeo Shingo.
Some companies calculate ‘economic batch size’ using complex algorithms. Shingo thought time would be better spent to reduce the changeover time than trying to justify large batches. He was proved correct.
Change over improvement thinking should not just be applied in manufacturing areas.
- Changing from one customer order to another
- Gaining access to your emails or accessing information whilst in another location
- Switching from one service provider to another
- Changing the toner in a photocopier
- Changing from one Business Unit Leader to another
We cannot improve every changeover in the business tomorrow, what should our priorities be?
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