The «SMED» method as one of the elements of lean production

Abstract

To achieve business goals, a number of global practices have been developed, one of which is lean production. The methods of this system ensure an increase in the operational efficiency of the enterprise and, accordingly, its competitiveness. Many organizations are aware of the importance of using lean production, but only a few of them competently apply Lean tools in their practice and, accordingly, receive profit from innovation. Lean manufacturing ensures the systematic elimination of costs and non-value-added activities in all areas of the value stream of manufacturing a product. Such changes in the production process will ensure the efficiency of the organization and increase its competitiveness. The purpose of the article is a theoretical analysis of «SMED» as one of the methods of lean production, as well as consideration of the elements of its implementation in the production process to increase the competitiveness of the enterprise. The article describes the general characteristics of the concept of «SMED», the main task of this method is the standardization of any process in production or outside it. For the development of SMED, both instructions and technical documentation from the manufacturer of technological equipment, as well as advanced developments in the technical field and available practical experience at the enterprise are used. The algorithm for the development and implementation of the SMED methodology was identified and analyzed: 1) Selection of members of the cross-functional group and formulation of tasks; 2) Checking the current state of the equipment configuration or reconfiguration process; 3) Analysis of the obtained results and identification of «external» and «internal» processes; 4) Development of a new scheme for working with equipment; 5) Checking the effectiveness of the developed action algorithm; 6) Implementation of a new work mechanism in the precinct. In addition, one of the approaches to analyzing the quality of production processes according to SMED, the Spaghetti Diagram, is considered, which allows you to understand the passage of the production process in physical space and record the movement of workers when performing the necessary manipulations. The implementation of the «SMED» method will ensure a reduction in the time required for the execution of production processes and, accordingly, their standardization, which, as a final result, leads to the production of products of the same quality. The implementation of this system will reduce unnecessary losses of the enterprise on additional processing of the finished product, increase the time of effective work of employees at the workplace and form a flow of value, which will ensure an increase in the competitiveness of the enterprise in general.