PurposeThis paper presents Quick Changeover Design (QCD), which is a structured methodological approach for Original Equipment Manufacturers to drive and support the design of machines in terms of rapid changeover capability.Design/methodology/approachTo improve the performance in terms of set up time, QCD addresses machine design from a single-minute digit exchange of die (SMED). Although conceived to aid the design of completely new machines, QCD can be adapted to support for simple design upgrades on pre-existing machines. The QCD is structured in three consecutive steps, each supported by specific tools and analysis forms to facilitate and better structure the designers' activities.FindingsQCD helps equipment manufacturers to understand the current and future needs of the manufacturers' customers to: (1) anticipate the requirements for new and different set-up process; (2) prioritize the possible technical solutions; (3) build machines and equipment that are easy and fast to set-up under variable contexts. When applied to a production system consisting of machines subject to frequent or time-consuming set-up processes, QCD enhances both responsiveness to external market demands and internal control of factory operations.Originality/valueThe QCD approach is a support system for the development of completely new machines and is also particularly effective in upgrading existing ones. QCD's practical application is demonstrated using a case study concerning a vertical spindle machine.

The ability of companies to rapidly conduct a changeover from one product to another as part of a production process is a fundamental step towards a more flexible production system that can deal with an increasingly dynamic and competitive market. Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is the best-known lean tool that aims to reduce time consumption in the changeover process. This paper presents a new Lean tool called Set-up Saving Deployment (SSD), which improves set-up efficiency by classifying, analyzing, and removing set-up losses within a changeover process, and which supports decision-making for SMED implementation. SSD uses three matrices, constructed sequentially from the first (L-Matrix) to the last (ECE-Matrix), in order to assess the possible time savings that can be achieved by eliminating losses and, in addition, to forecast possible improvements resulting from implementing a SMED project. SSD also provides a new basket of tailored set-up efficiency indicators that allow the analysis team to correctly assess set-up efficiency, and compare the 'as is' condition with the subsequent 'to be' condition from an operational perspective. The effectiveness of SSD in addressing set-up losses and predicting time savings is illustrated using an industrial case study of a resin doming machine. Thanks to its structured step-by-step procedure, SSD significantly improves the efficiency of the changeover process.

The ability of companies to rapidly conduct a changeover from one product to another as part of a production process is a fundamental step towards a more flexible production system that can deal with an increasingly dynamic and competitive market. Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is the best-known lean tool that aims to reduce time consumption in the changeover process. This paper presents a new lean tool called Set-up Saving Deployment (SSD), which improves set-up efficiency by classifying, analyzing, and removing set-up losses within a changeover process, and which supports decision-making for SMED implementation. SSD uses three matrices, constructed sequentially from the first (L-Matrix) to the last (ECE-Matrix), in order to assess the possible time savings that can be achieved by eliminating losses and, in addition, to forecast possible improvements resulting from implementing a SMED project. SSD also provides a new basket of tailored set-up efficiency indicators that allow the analysis team to correctly assess set-up efficiency and compare the “as is” condition with the subsequent “to be” condition from an operational perspective. The effectiveness of SSD in addressing set-up losses and predicting time savings is illustrated using an industrial case study of a resin-doming machine. Thanks to its structured step-by-step procedure, SSD significantly improves the efficiency of the changeover process.