SMED: for quick changeovers in foundry SMEs

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to uncover the significance of quick changeovers in die-casting foundry environments.Design methodology approach - The paper gives set-up instructions and guidelines to prepare the standardized set-up procedure without ignoring actual constraints in foundries. It uses a case study in a medium scale piston foundry to generate an integrated set-up reduction approach, utilizing single minute exchange of die (SMED)-based industrial engineering tools to achieve faster set-ups. It describes the feasibility of quick changeovers in foundry small and medium enterprises based on a "SMED" approach. Finally, the paper carries out empirical analysis of the financial non-financial benefits incurred from set-up reductions.Findings - Set-up activities are a vital part of the production lead-time of any product and so affect overall product cost. Tools like Pareto analysis, root-cause analysis and method study have been used to analyze the existing procedure of set-ups. A SMED approach can help eliminate unwanted activities, externalize the internal activities, if possible and reduce them by simplification or standardization. The application of other tools such as 5S, Poke-Yoke and specific tool-kits are suggested to further reduce set-up times.Originality value - The paper demonstrates the practical application of SMED showing how it can bring real breakthroughs in productivity to small and medium scale foundries.