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OE Tools - How To
     Understanding LEAN
     Facilitating Kaizens
     5S
     SMED
     Situational Simulation
     Using Process Maps
     Tying OE to Bottom LIne

Workforce Engagement
     Engaging the Workforce
     Praise Effort, Reward Results
     Empower Direct Reports

Process Modeling
     Process Modeling
     Simulation and Optimization

OE Strategy
     Rubberband Effect
     Facilitating Process Mapping
     Metrics Drive Gaming
     NO OE Programs on PDR
     Process Driven
     Continuous Improvement

SMED is a 4 Letter Word for a LEANER process

What is SMED? A process that drives productivity through the shifting of work off-line. The original intent of SMED was to reduce change over time for automotive body stamping operations. From there, it grew into a methodology for reducing set up time for process changeover. Lately, it has grown into a methodology for moving process steps off-line so as to reduce the throughput time.

Why SMED? By reducing process time through shifting of work off-line, the process is able to respond faster to customer demand. This not only improves customer service and production capability, it also significantly reduces the amount of inventory required to meet desired customer service levels. This inventory could be widgets in a manufacturing process, customers in a service process, or locomotives in a shop.

How does SMED work?

1. map the process steps from beginning to end.
2. For each process step, identify who is responsible for work, and what is the required sequence of the steps.
3. Identify which of the process steps can be done external to the process. By external to the process, we are talking about taking activities (process steps) outside of the main process stream that the "product" of the process goes through (internal process).

What do the letters SMED stand for? Single Minute Exchange of Die was borne of an auto industry desire to significantly reduce the time it takes to change the die for stamping operations from 12-72 hours to a single digit of minutes (less than 10 minutes). Again, like many LEAN tools, it was a way to package an industrial engineering concept into an easy to understand OE tool.