Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is one of the many lean production methods for reducing waste. It provides a rapid and efficient way of converting the running of the current product to running the next product. This rapid changeover is key to improving flow (Mura (Japanese term). While the phrase “single minute” does not mean that all changeovers and startups should take only one minute, but that they should take less than 10 minutes (in other words, “single digit minute”)
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‘Change management (or change control)’ is the process during which the changes of a system are implemented in a controlled manner by following a pre-defined framework/model with, to some extent, reasonable modifications.
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There are seven basic steps to reducing changeover using the SMED system:

1.OBSERVE the current methodology
2.Separate the INTERNAL and EXTERNAL activities. Internal activities are those that can only be performed when the process is stopped, while External activities can be done while the last batch is being produced, or once the next batch has started.
3.Convert (where possible) Internal activities into External ones.
4.Streamline the remaining internal activities, by simplifying them.
5.Streamline the External activities, so that they are of a similar scale to the Internal ones.
6.Document the new procedure, and actions that are yet to be completed.
7.Do it all again: For each iteration of the above process, a 45% improvement in set-up times should be expected, so it may take several iterations to cross the ten minute line.
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What would the seven basic steps to change management be from a SMED perspective?

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