Page 326 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

312 C o n t i n u o u s I m p r o v e m e n t A n a l y z e S t a g e 313

automotive industry pre-1980s, before they made concerted efforts to
reduce setup times. In that same era, printing presses required elaborate
setup procedures. Publishers were economically forced to order large quan-
tities to keep unit price low. This resulted in large inventories, a disincentive
to revise a book with new material. If the setup time is reduced, then smaller
batch sizes would be affordable, as is now commonly practiced in the print-
ing industry.
Setup time is defined as the time to change from the last item of the previous
order to the first good item of the next order. When analyzing setup activities,
note whether the activity is internal or external. Internal setup activities
require an inactive (shut down) process, meaning that no orders can be
run while the setup activity is taking place. External setup activities may
be done while the process is operational. They are offline activities. Con-
vert internal activities to external wherever possible.
Setup includes preparation, replacement, location, and adjustment
activities:
• Preparation refers to the tasks associated with getting or storing tools
or WIP needed for the process. For example, retrieving printer paper
from the closet, downloading the process instructions on the com-
puter, moving completed items to the next process step, starting up
software that we need to process the order, and so on. Some suitable
actions to reduce the time associated with preparation include:
• Convert from departments to work cells to minimize the time
required to move the finished product to the next process step.
• Store tools and materials locally, such as advocated by the
5S principles.
• Convert to Always ready to go. Make the software or instructions
instantly accessible.
• Replacement refers to the tasks associated with adding or removing
items or tools, for example, the movement of test fixtures, loading of
new material into the hopper, and loading paper in the copy
machine. Actions to reduce replacement times include:
• Simplify setups. Reduce the number of steps required, such as
through a redesign of fixtures.
• Establish commonality of setups for product families. When we
establish the same setup procedures for multiple items, we natu-
rally have fewer instances of change required, reducing the setup
time. This is the 5S tool of standardiza tion, which will be dis-
cussed in the Improve stage, in Chap. 16. The process is simpli-
fied by reducing the number of “special items” that are pro-
cessed: the higher the process complexity, the longer the cycle
time. Henry Ford, in offering the first affordable automobile,
realized the efficiency advantages offered by standardization.

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