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SMED changeover worksheet

A SMED changeover worksheet is the form you use to break one changeover into its steps, time each one and mark it internal (only possible with the machine stopped) or external (possible while it runs). This one adds a column for whether each internal step could move to external, one for the improvement idea, and before and after totals, so you can see how much shorter the changeover could be. Changeover time is the internal total, measured from the last good part of one run to the first good part of the next.

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Page 1 of the SMED changeover worksheetHeader fields for machine, change from and to, date and observer, and a numbered step table with time, internal or external, move to external, improvement idea and after columns.
Step list with timesInternal / externalMove to external?Improvement ideasBefore and after totals

When to use it

When to use a SMED worksheet

  • Before a SMED workshop, to record today's changeover as the baseline.
  • On the bottleneck machine, or any machine where long changeovers force large batches.
  • After improvements, to compare the new changeover with the old one and write the new standard.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Fill in the header

    The machine or line, the product you are changing from and to, the date and the observer.
  2. 2

    Observe or film one changeover

    Time it from the last good part of the old run to the first good part of the new one. Filming makes it much easier to split into steps afterwards.
  3. 3

    List every step with its time

    Write the steps in order with their time in minutes. Include walking, searching and waiting: they are steps too.
  4. 4

    Mark each step internal or external

    I if the machine must be stopped, E if it could be done while it runs, based on what happens today.
  5. 5

    Ask whether each internal step can move

    Could it be done before the stop or after the restart? Mark Y or N in the move to external column.
  6. 6

    Write an improvement idea

    For each step you can move, shorten or remove: prepare tools and material in advance, preset settings, use quick-release clamps, standardize heights.
  7. 7

    Fill in the after columns and compare

    Enter the new classification and expected time. The Excel version defaults moved steps to external, adds up internal and external time before and after, and shows the time saved.

How SMED works

The five steps, drawn on one changeover

The worksheet follows the method step by step: film the changeover, label every activity, move the external work out of the stop, shorten what is left, then validate and standardize. The timeline under each step shows what that step does to the stop.

How to perform SMED

Example numbers
  1. Step 1: Film the changeover

    From the last good part of the old product to the first good part of the new one.

    The machine stops for 18 blocks; the activities inside the stop are not yet sorted.

  2. Step 2: Label every activity

    I needs the machine stopped. E could be done while it runs. U adds nothing.

    The machine stops for 18 blocks: 9 internal, 6 external, 3 unnecessary.

  3. Step 3: Move external work before the stop

    Do it while the old product still runs. Strike out the unnecessary.

    The machine stops for 9 blocks: 9 internal. 6 blocks of external work run before the stop, while the machine is still producing. 3 blocks of unnecessary work are removed.

  4. Step 4: Shorten what is left

    Internal work first: quick clamps, presets, two people to a written split.

    The machine stops for 6 blocks: 6 internal. 4 blocks of external work run before the stop, while the machine is still producing.

  5. Step 5: Validate, standardize, expand

    Check against the baseline, weigh benefit against cost, write the standard, take it to the next machine.

    Machine-down time at each stage. Baseline: machine down 18 blocks, running alongside 0; After step 3: machine down 9 blocks, running alongside 6; After step 4: machine down 6 blocks, running alongside 4; Standard: machine down 6 blocks, running alongside 4.

  • Production
  • Internal: machine stopped
  • External: machine can run
  • Unnecessary
  • Removed
  • Blocks are illustrative units, not minutes.

Five steps with the same changeover timeline at each stage. The machine-stopped window is 18 blocks at the baseline, 9 after the external work moves out and the unnecessary is removed, 6 after the remaining activities are shortened, and 6 held as the standard.

Only the stopped window is changeover time. Moving work out of it (step 3) usually does more than speeding anything up, and it costs the least.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

A press changeover with 90 minutes of internal work and 20 minutes of external work.

The example changeover, before and after SMED

BeforeInternal (press stopped): 90 min · External (press running): 20 min
AfterInternal (press stopped): 52 min · External (press running): 50 min
  1. Convert: 30 minutes moved from internal to external (fetch the next die, find the clamps, preheat, first-off paperwork).
  2. Streamline: quick-release clamps, die fixing from 12 to 4 minutes, 8 minutes less.
  3. Changeover time: 90 − 30 − 8 = 52 minutes.

Before: 90 minutes of internal work with the press stopped and 20 minutes of external work. After moving 30 minutes to external and cutting die fixing by 8 minutes: 52 internal and 50 external.

Only internal time stops the press, so the changeover falls from 90 to 52 minutes (42% shorter) even though the total work barely changes.
  • Six internal steps, 30 minutes in all, could move to external: fetching the next die, finding clamps, preheating and preparing first-off paperwork.
  • A quick-release clamp idea could cut die fixing from 12 minutes to 4.
  • After: internal time 90 − 30 − 8 = 52 minutes, external time 20 + 30 = 50 minutes.

The changeover drops from 90 to 52 minutes, 42% shorter. To turn the minutes saved into capacity or smaller batches, use the SMED changeover calculator.

Common mistakes

  • Timing from memory or the schedule

    Observe or film a real changeover. Estimates miss the waiting and searching.

  • Leaving out walking, searching and waiting

    They are often the easiest minutes to remove.

  • Marking steps as they should be

    Record what happens today in the first columns. The after columns are for what should happen.

  • Buying hardware before moving work

    Move internal work to external first. It usually costs little compared with new tooling.

  • Not writing down the new sequence

    Without a standard, the next shift goes back to the old way.

From this worksheet to a running system

LeanSuite does this worksheet's job from one video: the AI sorts the changeover into internal and external tasks.

  • Film the changeover on a phone, from the last good part to the first good part.
  • The AI tags each task internal or external and flags tasks that can run in parallel.
  • The proposed shorter sequence becomes the changeover checklist operators run at the line.
LeanSuite SMED analysis: two timelines of one changeover, one lane per person, before and after the external work is moved out of the machine stop

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

LeanSuite watches a video of your changeover, separates internal and external tasks, and recommends a leaner sequence with the projected time saved.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

SMED changeover worksheet: common questions

  1. Internal work can only be done with the machine stopped, such as removing one die and fitting the next. External work can be done while the machine is still running, such as fetching tools, staging material or preheating the next die. SMED moves as much work as possible from internal to external.

  2. From the last good part of one product to the first good part of the next, so adjustments and trial runs count. Only internal work adds to the changeover time; external work done while the machine runs does not.

  3. Start with one representative changeover on the machine where changeover time costs the most. Once you have a new standard, time a few more changeovers on different shifts to check that everyone follows it.

  4. Single-minute exchange of die. Single-minute refers to the goal of a changeover that takes a single-digit number of minutes, under ten. It is a direction to work toward: any internal minutes removed free up machine time.

  5. Print the PDF to take to the machine on a clipboard while you observe. Type the results into the Excel version afterwards: it adds up the internal and external time before and after and works out the time saved.

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