Single-Minute Exchange of Dies at a Kaizen Event

Abstract

Lean concepts play a fundamental role in the promotion of continuous improvement in the workplace. This chapter seeks to assess the impact of Kaizen events on an organization's bottom line, in the case of Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) that is a system for dramatically reducing the time it takes to complete equipment changeovers. In this case study, SMED was used in combination with other lean tools such as 5S and standardized work in a bid to promote continuous improvement of the “flawed” operations that occur in a world-class manufacturer plant. This analysis is critical in determining whether the path to achieving continuous improvement process for the team in the organization can be achieved through the use of SMED. The results have shown that a lean strategy like SMED, coupled with other lean strategies like 5s and TPM, plays a fundamental role in reducing process inefficiencies in the plant.