A formal design for changeover methodology. Part 1: Theory and background

Abstract

A rapid changeover capability is central to today's thinking in respect of responsive, small batch manufacturing. Mass customization and other modern manufacturing paradigms have prompted companies to adapt swiftly to market turbulence and at the same time avoid the traditionally high unit costs associated with custom-made or small-volume products. Historically, an operation-focused approach has been adopted in reducing changeover times; however, it is argued that there is a significant benefit if there is a focus on equipment design.

There is a considerable challenge to design and build cost-effective changeover-capable equipment. This challenge would be greatly assisted by the availability of a coherent design for changeover (DFC) methodology.

The authors have been researching the changeover area for many years and present their latest thinking in two parts. In the first part of this paper the basic concepts for a formal DFC methodology are introduced. Drawing lessons from various existing DFX methodologies, including design for assembly and design for variety, these concepts set out the basics for a novel DFC methodology. The debated DFC methodology is presented in the second part alongside an illustrative case study [1].

Keywords

design for changeover (DFC)design methodology manufacturing flexibility manufacturing responsiveness

References

Reik

M. P.

McIntosh

R. I.

Owen

G. W.

Culley

S. J.

Mileham

A. R.

A formal design for changeover (DFC) methodology. Part 1: Theory and background. Proc. IMechE, Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture, 2006, 220(B8), 1225–1235.

Spencer

M. S.

Guide

V. D.

An exploration of the components of JIT: Case study and survey results. Int. J. Ops Prod. Mgmt, 1995, 15, 72–83.

Vonderembse

M. A.

Ragu-Nathan

T. S.

Manufacturing practices: Antecedents to mass customization. Prod. Plann. Control, 2004, 15(4), 373–380.

Bicheno

The new lean toolbox — towards fast, flexible flow, 2003 (PICSIE Books, Buckingham).

Prasad

A structured methodology to implement judiciously the right JIT tactics. Prod. Plann. Control, 1995, 6, 564–577.

Golhar

D. Y.

Stamm

C. L.

The just-in-time philosophy: A literature review. Int. J. Prod. Res., 1991, 29(4), 657.

Nakamura

Sakakibara

Schroeder

Adoption of just-in-time manufacturing methods at US- and Japanese-owned plants: Some empirical evidence. IEEE Trans., Engng Mgmt, 1998, 45(3), 230–240.

Pine

B. J.

Mass customization: The new frontier in business, 1993 (Harvard Business Press).

Urbani

Molinar-Tosatti

Bosani

Pierpaoli

Flexibility and reconfigurability for mass customization, 2003 (Springer, Berlin).

10.

McCarthy

I. P.

The what, why and how of mass customization. Prod. Plann. Control (special issue editorial), 2004, 15(4), 347–351.

11.

Reik

M. P.

Culley

S. J.

Mileham

A. R.

Owen

G. W.

McIntosh

R. I.

Design for changeover (DFC): Enabling the design of highly flexible, highly responsive manufacturing processes. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Changeable, agile, reconfigurable and virtual production, CARV 05, Munich, 2005.

12.

Shingo

A revolution in manufacturing: The SMED system, 1995 (Productivity Press, Portland, USA).

13.

McIntosh

R. I.

The impact of innovative design on fast tool change methodologies. PhD Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, 1998.

14.

Sekine

Arai

Kaizen for quick changeover -going beyond SMED, 1992 (Productivity Press, Portland, Oregon).

15.

McIntosh

R. I.

Culley

S. J.

Mileham

A. R.

Owen

G. W.

Improving changeover performance, 2001, (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK).

16.

Culley

S. J.

Owen

G. W.

Mileham

A. R.

McIntosh

R. I.

Sustaining changeover improvement. Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs, Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture, 2003, 217(10), 1455–1470.

17.

McIntosh

R. I.

Owen

G. W.

Culley

S. J.

Mileham

A. R.

Changeover improvement: Reinterpreting Shingo's SMED methodology. IEEE Trans. Engng Mgmt, 2005, in press.

18.

Whitney

D. E.

Mechanical assemblies — their design, manufacture, and role in product development, 2004 (Oxford University Press, New York).

19.

Mileham

A. R.

Culley

S. J.

Owen

G. W.

Newnes

L. B.

Giess

M. D.

Bramley

A. N.

The impact of run-up in ensuring rapid changeover, Ann. CIRP, 2004, 53(1), 407–410.

20.

Mileham

A. R.

Culley

S. J.

Owen

G. W.

McIntosh

R. I.

Rapid changeover — a prerequisite for responsive manufacture. Int. J. Ops Prod. Management, 1999, 19(8), 785–796.

21.

Van Goubergen

van Landeghem

Rules for integrating fast changeover capabilities into new equipment design. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Flexible manufacturing, 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd, Dublin, pp. 205–214.

22.

Boothroyd

Dewhurst

Knight

Product design for manufacture and assembly, 1994 (Marcel Dekker, New York).

23.

Swift

K. G.

Booker

J. D.

Process selection — from design to manufacture, 1997 (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford).

24.

Martin

M. V.

Ishii

Design for variety: Developing standardised and modularized product platform architectures. Res. Engng Des., 2002, 13(4), 213–235.

25.

Schuh

Harre

Gottschalk

Kampker

Design for changeability (DFC) — das richtige Maß an Wandlungsfähigkeit finden. wt

Werkstattstechnik, 2004, 94(04), 100–106.

26.

Neuhausen

Methodik zur Gestaltung modularer Produktionssysteme für Unternehmen der Serienproduktion. PhD Thesis, Laboratorium fur Werkzeugmaschinen und Betriebslehre (WZL), RWTH Aachen, 2001.

27.

Trevino

Hurley

Friedrich

A mathematical model for the economic justification of set-up time reduction. Int. J. Prod. Res., 1993, 31, 191–202.

28.

St. John

C. H.

Cannon

A. R.

Pouder

R. W.

Change drivers in the new millennium: Implications for manufacturing strategy research. J. Ops Mgmnt, 2001, 19(2), 143–160.

29.

Perremans

Feature-based description of modular fixturing elements: The key to an expert system for automatic design of the physical fixture. Adv. in Engng Software, 1996, 25, 19–27.

30.

Pahl

Beitz

1996, Engineering — A Systematic Approach (Springer, London).

31.

Rogers

G. G.

Bottaci

Modular production systems: A new manufacturing paradigm. J. Intell. Mfg, 1997, 8(2), 147–156.

32.

Z. M.

Zhang

W. J.

Modularity Technology in Manufacturing: Taxonomy and Issues. Int. J. Adv. Mfg Technol., 2001, 18(5), 381–390.