Productivity Improvement of a Production Line Through Quick Changeover Concept - A Case Study

This paper describes a project that aims at the reduction of setup or changeover times in a final assembly line that produces automotive instrument panels, using the Quick Changeover concept and, methodologies and tools associated with Lean Production. Setup or changeover times are non-productive times, and therefore are considered waste, having a direct impact on line availability, reducing its Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). In this way, high changeover times reduce the productive flexibility, as they lead to a deliberate reduction in the number of changeovers, and consequently to the increase of produced stocks. The factors that most contributed to the high changeover times were the high waiting times, the necessary adjustment after changeovers due to breakdowns, the lack of means to a Quick Changeover which resulted in excessive displacements of the line operators, and the lack of a changeover standard that defines clearly who performs each task. Through the application of the SMED methodology, and the implemented improvements and standards, the total changeover time of the studied line was reduced from 57.5 to 23.7 minutes, representing an improvement of approximately 59% compared to the initial time. The result represents an additional production opportunity of 23 units per production change and shows the impact of the implementation of Quick Changeover concept and associated tools, achieved with the collaboration of people with different skills.