Roll change time reduction of Usiminas Cubatao hot strip mill plant

This paper has the purpose to present the main activities developed to decrease the roll change time of the Usiminas Cubatao hot strip mill plant. To achieve these results, some activities were developed based on the lean manufacturing philosophy, as an example the implementation of the SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) tool. Throughout the roll change evolution, extra activities were developed as the visual management implementation, the synergy between operation, maintenance and roll shop, as well as trainings based on the methodologies. The results achieved with the implementation of the methodologies was the roll change time reduction in 2.3 minutes and the average time of 11.2 minutes, and a greater availability of equipment in operation.