Measure your setup time. This should be a key metric in batch-driven processes; however, if your organization is not establishing goals and monitoring setup time, how much cost is incurred may surprise you.

Mimic NASCAR. A certain company occasionally stops production to hold a contest, putting together “pit crews” to see who can set up a machine the fastest. The winning team’s time becomes the new goal. Winners get bragging rights, or even a prize!

Think Japanese. Manufacturers in Japan are known for their efficiency and their ability to continually change as necessary for the betterment of the organization. One of the techniques they use is Kaizen. Consider assembling a diverse team that cuts across disciplines to spend a few days tackling a process improvement problem. For example, one certain company had a team reconfigure work and storage areas to see where improvements could be made. Their improvement suggestions reduced setup time from six hours to 40 minutes!

Consider another Japanese method. Japanese industrial engineer Shigeo Shingo developed the Single Minute Exchange of Dies (“SMED”) process for Toyota as an essential component of just-in-time manufacturing. He maintained that most approaches to reducing setup time limit their success by focusing on improving employee skills rather than on making changes in the process which in turn lower the amount of skill needed.

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