SMED Changeover Checklist: Internal and External Setup

To shorten a changeover, record every setup task, separate work that requires a stopped machine from preparation that can happen beforehand, and move only the approved preparation outside the shutdown window. Measure from the last good part of the old job to the first accepted part of the new job.

The setup leader owns this exercise. Start when a repeat changeover regularly delays the next job or the planner has no trustworthy setup allowance. Bring the two part numbers, machine identity, current setup instruction, tooling list, inspection requirements and a timed observation of one complete changeover.

Watch one changeover before changing the sequence

Write down what the team does, including walking, searching and waiting. Record the start and finish of each task and whether tasks overlap. Ask the operator why each step exists before classifying it. A wait for the correct gauge needs a different fix from a controlled cooling period.

The Lean Enterprise Institute's SMED definition distinguishes internal setup, which needs the machine stopped, from external setup, which can happen while it runs. The worksheet below applies that distinction to an illustrative setup; its times are invented for teaching.

A 42-minute changeover worksheet

The observed total is 7 + 6 + 9 + 10 + 4 + 6 = 42 minutes. Preparing the tools, material and gauge beforehand removes 17 minutes from this illustrative stopped interval, leaving 25 minutes. It does not remove 17 minutes of labour: preparation still takes work. Record who performs it and whether that person is available while the previous job runs.

If two people work simultaneously, sum elapsed intervals on the machine timeline, not their individual labour minutes. Keep both measures if staffing is part of the decision. A faster shutdown interval with extra handling or missed inspections is not an accepted improvement.

Give external preparation a release check

Before the planned stop, the setup leader checks the next job number, drawing revision, material identity, complete fixture kit and inspection resources. Each item needs an owner and a ready/not-ready result. A missing clamp should be visible while the planner can still change the sequence.

Keep an exception column: missing item, person resolving it and latest decision time. If preparation is incomplete, decide whether to finish the current job, choose another ready job or accept a documented delay. Do not let a green checklist hide a borrowed gauge that will still be in use elsewhere.

Our material-readiness checklist covers the wider release decision. This setup sheet concentrates on the interval between two jobs.

Approve and measure the revised method

The process and safety owners must approve task movement before the trial. Moving preparation earlier never authorizes reaching into running equipment, bypassing guards or changing isolation requirements. Follow the machine's approved procedures for every internal task.

Use the same start and finish definitions for the baseline and trial. For a practical pilot, review three comparable changeovers and record part pair, staffing, elapsed stop, preparation labour, first-piece result and unusual conditions. Three trials are a proposed local check, not a statistical guarantee.

Accept the method when all required preparation is completed before the stop, required controls remain intact, the first part passes the approved inspection and the timeline contains no unexplained gaps. Update the setup allowance only after the planner and setup leader agree what conditions the observation represents.

Keep the preparation record beside the job in Optiwise

In Optiwise production, we connect work orders, routing, drawings, machine and worker activity. Our no-code forms let you capture preparation checks with mandatory fields and attachments, while versioned SOPs keep the approved method available at the process. Connected IoT runtime and downtime signals can help locate the stop interval; the team still records why the stop occurred and when quality accepted the new part.

Questions about changeover measurement

Does SMED mean every setup must take less than ten minutes?

Single-digit minutes is the target in the term. Your first useful step is a measured, safe reduction for a defined part change; do not promise a universal duration.

Can we count preparation time as a saving?

Count time removed from the stopped-machine interval separately from labour saved. Work moved before shutdown may still use the same labour, tools and space.

Bring one observed changeover to an Optiwise demo. We can map its preparation form, job record and setup instruction into the production workflow.