Help Manual

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Sigma Magic Help Version 18

Single Minute Exchange of Dies

Overview

Single-minute exchange of Dies (SMED) is a methodology for reducing change over time. Reducing the changeover time is a key enabler of reducing batch sizes and, hence, lead time.

To add this tool to your workbook, click on Lean and then select SMED Analysis.

Inputs

Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
inputs
1
Num Rows: Specify the number of rows to format the worksheet. You would at least need to have as many rows as the number of steps in your process. You can always go back and change this number later.
2
Reduction Target: The % reduction in changeover time that you expect by performing the SMED exercise. The final report will compare the actual value you achieved with this target.
3
SMED Video: Select a video of the changeover event and upload it to your Excel tool. This video is optional but can provide a mechanism to view the different activities conducted in the changeover and the time it takes for each step. The output of this analysis will be an input into your worksheet.

Click the Browse button to search your hard disk to load a video file. If you click on Cancel, any previous selections are canceled. Note that once a video is uploaded to the worksheet, you cannot delete the video from this dialog box. Still, you must manually delete the videos from your worksheet "Comments" area. You can upload multiple videos to your worksheet - preferably one for the before condition and one for the after condition. Click on the Clear button to remove the file from the dialog box.
4
View Example: Click on this button to open the example file. You can view the example to get an idea of how to fill out this tool, or you can use the example as a starting point and modify it to meet your project needs.
5
Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file on this topic.
6
Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without saving any changes.
7
OK Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your analysis results.
A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below. outputs Enter the following information on the worksheet. List all the activities for changeover on the worksheet. Here are the columns you can specify:
NumDescription
1A number for the sequence of changeover activities
2A brief description of the activity being performed
3The name of the operator(s) performing the activity
4The start time for the activity in hh:mm: ss
5The end time for the activity in hh:mm: ss
6Whether the activity is internal or external. Internal activities can only be done when the machine/equipment is stopped. External activities can be done when the machine/equipment is running.
7The state for the activity - whether it is current state (what is happening today) or future state (what you are proposing)
8A classification of the activity as either VA (Value Added), NVA (Non Value Added), or BVA (Business Value Added)
The methodology to reduce the changeover time in the future state vs. the current state could include the following steps:
NumDescription
1Convert as many internal activities to external activities as possible.
2Eliminate or reduce nonvalue-added activities.
3Combine different activities into one if possible.
4Possibly break up the activities and assign them to different people to perform them in parallel.
5Try to minimize the time spent on internal activities.
6Try to eliminate or minimize the business value-added activities.
7Use tools such as jigs and fixtures to simplify the time spent on the activities.
8Use pre-kit parts to minimize the time required to perform the activities
Deploy the suggested changes (after approval from management) and collect the time it takes to perform the new activities. You can use a video of the new process to document the times. Any future state now becomes the new current state, and the same process can be repeated multiple times until you are satisfied with the improvements. Document the changes you have made to the process. The documentation can be used to share with management the improvements made and to train future employees on the proposed way of working.

Charts

You will see the following dialog box if you click the Charts button. Charts
1
Title: The system will automatically pick a title for your chart. However, if you want to override that with your title, you can specify a title for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
2
Sub Title: The system will automatically pick a subtitle for your chart. However, if you want to override that with your subtitle, specify a subtitle for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
3
X Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your label for the x-axis, you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
4
Y Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your label for the y-axis, you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
5
X Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the x-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to determine the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20, the minimum x-axis scale is set at 10, and the maximum x-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, the x-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is currently disabled, and you cannot change this setting.
6
Y Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the y-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to determine the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20, the minimum y-axis scale is set at 10, and the maximum y-axis is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the y-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is optional.
7
Horizontal Lines: If you want to add a few extra horizontal reference lines on top of your chart, you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 12;15, two horizontal lines are plotted at Y = 12 and Y = 15, respectively. Note that this input is optional.
8
Vertical Lines: You can specify the values here if you want to add a few extra vertical reference lines on top of your chart. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 2;5, two vertical lines are plotted at X = 2 and X = 5, respectively. Note that this input is optional.

Verify

If you click the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The software checks if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, they are shown as green-colored checkmarks. If the verification checks fail, they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange exclamation mark, and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.
1
Item: The left-hand side shows the major tabs and the items checked within each section
2
Status: The right-hand side shows the status of the checks.
3
Overall Status: Shows the overall status of all the checks performed. If all the checked items are okay, the status image in the header will show a green checkmark. If any checks fail, then the status image in the header will show a red cross mark.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the output calculations. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below. outputs The text output displays the number of steps in the current process vs. the future process, and the target percentage improvement sought using the changeover exercise. The analysis results contain the following information:
  • Pre: The amount of changeover performed before the start of the actual changeover (or internal activities). Ideally, we want to spend as much time as possible before the internal activities to minimize the time during the changeover. The percentage change in the pre-time is also reported. An increase in the Pre-time from current to future is not necessarily bad!
  • During The amount of time spent during the changeover during internal activities. This is the focus of the changeover reduction exercise. We need to make this time as short as possible in the future. The percentage reduction in this time is compared to the target in the conclusion.
  • Post:The amount of time spent after the internal activities. We want to move as much of the internal activities to after to ensure as much reduction in internal activities as possible. An increase in the Post-time from current to future is not necessarily bad!
  • Total:The total time for the changeover, which includes a combination of the pre-time, during-time, and post-time. The percentage change in this time is also listed on the right.
  • VA Time:The total value-added time across all the steps is listed here. We want to increase the VA time as much as possible.
  • BVA Time:The total business value-added time across all the steps is listed here. We want to minimize the BVA time as much as possible.
  • NVA Time:The total non-value-added time across all the steps is listed here. We want to minimize the NVA time as much as possible.
  • VA Percent:The value-added percent is the ratio of the value-added time to the total combination of VA time, NVA time, and BVA time across all steps. We would like to see an increase in the VA percentage from now to the future.
A graph shows the split-up of the changeover time between pre-, During, and Post-activities for both the current and future states. A GANTT chart of the activities for the current state and the future state is also shown. The green bars represent VA activities, and the dotted lines represent the start and end of internal activities. When the analysis is complete, the following message box is displayed: outputs

Notes

Here are a few notes regarding this analysis:
  • Always try to take a video of the changeover to assist you with the changeover analysis.
  • Make sure the video does not alter the current working state and captures "reality."
  • Use on-screen timers on the video to help you capture the time for various activities.
  • Make sure you re-watch the video multiple times to avoid missing any steps.
  • It may be a good idea to have the workers capture the video themselves as an improvement activity.
  • Use a cross-functional team to help identify improvements and reward time.