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SMED / Makeready Tracker

Cut the changeover, shrink the batch.

Long changeovers force big batches, and big batches breed waste. SMED attacks the changeover itself by separating work that needs the machine stopped from work that does not. List your steps, split internal from external, and the tool shows how much press-down time you can reclaim.

TimePer changeover
FormatInteractive tracker
SavesPDF · JSON record

What it is

SMED, single-minute exchange of die, is the method for slashing changeover time. The trick is splitting steps into internal (machine stopped) and external (done while it runs).

When to use it

On any job change that stops a press, cutter, or laminator. Shorter changeovers mean smaller batches and faster turnaround.

How to run it

List every changeover step, mark it internal or external, and flag the internal ones you could prep ahead. The tool shows the down-time you would save.

#Changeover stepTypeTime (min)Move to external?
Saved

Worked example: vinyl to banner on Press 2

The changeover runs 28 minutes of press-down time. Listing the steps shows that staging the banner media, pre-loading the profile, and fetching the test file are all internal today but could be done while the last job finishes. Flagging those three as external drops the stopped time to 17 minutes, an 11-minute saving on every changeover, without buying anything.