As a production planner within a dynamic manufacturing environment, the main goal is to increase production capacity and ensure that no orders are missed or delivered late. One of the most important issues required to achieve this is reducing changeover time. This article discusses the crucial role of changeover time reduction and its benefits in terms of increasing production capacity and preventing order loss.

What is switching time?

Switchover time refers to the time required to switch production from one product to another. This includes, for example, cleaning machines, setting tools and configuring various parameters to meet the requirements of the new product. A long changeover time can lead to costly delays in production planning and may even cause valuable orders to be missed.

Increasing production capacity

Reducing changeover time has a direct impact on increasing production capacity. By minimizing the time required to switch over, more products can be produced in the same amount of time. Suppose you can reduce your changeover time from 30% to 20%, then your effective production time increases from 70% to 80%. This allows you to supply your customers with a greater number of goods and meet growing demand. Efficient production planning with minimal changeover times allows you to make the best use of existing resources and increase output without sacrificing quality.

Avoiding order loss

Preventing order loss is another key driver behind reducing changeover time. When a customer places an order, they expect it to be delivered on time. If you are unable to process their orders in a timely manner because of efficiency losses due to excessive changeover times, valuable business opportunities may be lost. Customers may lose confidence in you and go to competitors who are able to meet their needs. Reducing changeover time can improve production efficiency, meet delivery times and thus ensure customer satisfaction.

Benefits of switching time reduction

Reducing changeover time offers several benefits for both the production planner and the company as a whole. Some of these benefits include:

1. Flexibility: Short changeover times allow you to react quickly to changing market demand and new production requirements. It is then easy to switch to the production of different products and adapt to customers’ needs.
2. Efficiency: Spending less time switching means being able to spend more time on actual production. This leads to better utilization of available production capacity and increased productivity.
3. Cost savings: Short changeover times reduce production downtime and minimize wasted time and resources. This results in significant long-term cost savings.
4. Quality: When reducing changeover time, there is less risk of errors and quality problems. Fewer manual adjustments and configurations reduce the risk of human error, resulting in higher product quality and fewer rejects.

Implementation of changeover time reduction in the workplace.

To effectively reduce switching time, some strategies should be implemented:

• Standardized procedures: Creating and implementing standardized procedures for the changeover process can help ensure consistency and efficiency. Clear instructions and guidelines reduce confusion and minimize the time required to perform changeovers.
• Training and skill development: Training operators and staff in advanced techniques and improving their skills can significantly reduce changeover time. Well-trained employees better understand the requirements of the changeover process and can perform it faster and more accurately.
• Investing in technology: The use of advanced technologies that can automatically generate optimized production planning with the goal of reducing changeover time. Automation can streamline tasks, increase reliability and minimize human error.

Tricks to reduce changeover time as a production planner

The planner can directly impact changeover time with good daily planning(production scheduling). Smart inventory management and sequential production can help achieve.

• Smart inventory management: make sure there is enough in stock so that when the next sales order comes in, you don’t have to start production and set up machines again. For products that are sold frequently, this can be done by keeping a safety stock to ensure that they are always in stock. This safety stock can be replenished in large(er) quantities all the time to avoid frequent startups. For products with fewer sales, this can be done by immediately producing a little extra when there is an order to at least have enough for the next sale.
• Sequential scheduling: group production orders based on similar settings, such as machine settings, material requirements and process parameters. By producing these production orders in immediate succession, you avoid frequent changes resulting in less changeover time.

Conclusion

As a production planner, the importance of reducing changeover time to increase production capacity and avoid missing orders is incredibly important. By implementing strategies such as standardized procedures, training and technology investments, you can minimize changeover time and enjoy the benefits it brings, such as increased flexibility, efficiency, cost savings and improved quality. In addition, production planning allows you to directly impact your changeover time. Through smart inventory management and sequential scheduling, you can avoid unnecessary switching. Reducing changeover time is essential to achieving goals and ensuring the company’s success in a competitive market.