What you learn from this blog can change the way your factory floor runs – for the better. In the manufacturing world, most companies sustain really long production runs to avoid long changeovers, but that comes with great risk. Long production runs lead to overproducing and even longer lead times. The increased length of time it takes for your customers to receive the product creates even more problems and customer dissatisfaction, a big no-no.
How do you prevent that scenario from happening?
What is Changeover Time?
Changeover time, also known as setup time, is the period required to switch a manufacturing process from producing one product to another. This includes everything from shutting down the current production line, preparing equipment, and configuring settings, to running initial trials and making necessary adjustments to ensure the new product meets quality standards. Reducing changeover time is critical for manufacturing efficiency as it directly impacts production capacity, flexibility, and overall operational costs.
How to Calculate Changeover Time
Calculating changeover time involves measuring the total time taken from the last good piece of the current production run to the first good piece of the next production run. Here’s a simple formula to calculate it:
Changeover Time = End Time of Last Good Piece – Start Time of First Good Piece
For example, if the last good piece of Product A is completed at 2:00 PM and the first good piece of Product B is completed at 3:00 PM, the changeover time is one hour.
How Reducing Changeovers Can Improve Production
“The more inventory a company has… the less likely they will have what they need.” – Taiichi Ohno, Toyota
Efficiently managing changeover time is critical as it directly impacts overall lead time by reducing downtime and increasing production speed. Shortening changeover time can significantly decrease lead time, allowing manufacturers to respond more quickly to customer demands, improve inventory turnover, and enhance overall operational efficiency.
Problems that result from long changeover times are never ideal. Considering the end goal as a manufacturer is to deliver on time to customers and keep them coming back for more, a lengthy changeover can cause many issues in production and beyond.
If a long production run is not the answer, then what is? Mingo Smart Factory. Our manufacturing analytics software can be used to reduce changeover time and provide the ability to changeover more frequently and efficiently. The improvement in changeover time will establish more flexibility and the promise of delivering on time to your customers.
3 Ways to Reduce Changeover Time
1. Standardize and Document Procedures
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” – Lord Kelvin
You can’t reduce changeover time until you start measuring it. Standardizing and documenting changeover procedures is essential for ensuring consistency and knowing if your changes are taking the factory in the right direction. Detailed step-by-step instructions should be available for operators to follow. Visual aids, such as checklists and diagrams, can further streamline the process. Regular training and refreshers help maintain proficiency and consistency among staff.
2. Employ Real-Time Data and Analytics
Utilizing real-time data from a production monitoring system like Mingo Smart Factory provides invaluable insights into changeover processes. Real-time tracking and analytics help identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, allowing for immediate corrective actions. With Mingo’s user-friendly dashboard and quick deployment, manufacturers can swiftly implement changes and see a rapid return on investment.
3. Conduct Regular Maintenance and Calibration
Regular maintenance and calibration of equipment ensure that machines are in optimal condition, reducing the likelihood of issues during changeovers. Predictive maintenance, informed by real-time data, helps anticipate and address potential problems before they cause delays.
How Can Mingo Help Me Reduce Changeovers?
Ready to get started? There is an unique feature built into the Mingo software that immediately starts a timer to track how long a changeover takes. The timer can stop automatically when it sees the first good part come off of the line or a worker on the line can manually stop it. There’s even the ability to set up target changeover times for each part a manufacturer has.
This is the part where you’re thinking, “How could there possibly be a tool that can help track and reduce changeovers?” Well, it’s not too good to be true. Look no further for the answer to your question – Mingo Manufacturing Analytics can track and reduce changeovers, with ease.
Check out the 6 Steps to Implementing IIoT on the Factory Floor Guide. It explains the concepts of IIoT and manufacturing analytics, identifies common issues faced by manufacturers, such as changeovers, and helps you learn how to apply the concepts of manufacturing analytics to your own floor to make it more efficient and productive.
Case Study
When analyzing their shift change productivity, one of Mingo Smart Factory’s paint supply companies realized that their Morning Shift was sometimes delayed for up to two hours. The reason: the operators were trying to figure out what jobs/parts had been run on the overnight shift before managers were in the office for the day. They needed to know which lines were a priority and how many parts were still needed to be produced. Using production planning to led operators know what project that are starting with at the beginning of their shift helped reduce changeover time. Check out other Extraordinary Customer Success Stories
Reporting that is Easy to Understand
Mingo Smart Factory’s software can easily run a report that identifies changeover times, and specifically, if any were shorter or longer than the ideal time. The report provides you, or any other member of your team, the ability to:
- Compare against the standard
- Evaluate which machines and employees are performing well and which aren’t
In addition to the reports, you can create graphs that look at changeover rates over time. Are changeovers better or worse? Customize your timeline by selecting the specific date ranges and see which changeovers take the longest, how frequently certain ones are occurring, and how long exactly each one is, in a visual format that is easy to understand.
With indisputable data, you and your team can focus on areas for improvement which in the end, reduces production time and increased flexibility. A win-win.
Instead of avoiding the problem at hand (i.e. running long production times to reduce the number of changeovers), reduce the time that is taken to complete the changeovers (with Mingo, of course!) It’s a simple concept with proven results.
Tacony Case Study
Before implementing Mingo Smart Factory, Tacony had a 14-week backlog in their West Chicago furniture plant. The inefficiency of backorders locked up a half million dollars in potential revenue. With insight into the production production, shifting from manual to automatic reporting, and eliminating excuses, the factory was able to get back on track and reduce their backlog. “It allows us to track actual to expected performance in operations, distribution, even the warehouse, based on the Mingo reporting which helps support the incentive program payout.” Nick Hinman, VP of Corporate Strategy. Read the full case study
Mingo Smart Factory gives you the software and tools necessary to understand where your inefficiencies are. Our implementation guides will help you take that knowledge and apply it to problems on the factory floor. Interested in seeing more? Click here to contact us for a free demo.