From amongst many tools in the arsenal of the Lean Manufacturing System, the one which is the one of most capable of bringing about Breakthrough improvement in very quick time, is certainly the "Single Minute Exchange of Dies" SMED also known as "Quick Change Over."
In many cases, SMED also becomes the source of financial support for the rest of the transformation that lean enterprises desperately need. Invented in a moment of frustration on the part of the Toyoda family and their brilliant team of engineers, this process which applies the fundamental principles of a pit stop in the car races ..
