The Situation
Frequent grade switches were consuming productive hours. Every changeover triggered resets, re-dialing, and restart scrap.
Planning sequenced reactively by incoming orders, so the lines changed over more often than the order mix required.
OEE remained low for a simple reason: too much of the day was spent not winding.
What We Did
We made changeover a primary improvement stream, not a side-effect of planning.
- Applied SMED to separate internal and external setup work and shift preparation out of downtime.
- Resequenced production to group similar grades and cut reset frequency.
- Introduced structured preventive maintenance to protect planned run time.
The Results
Output rose 58% and OEE improved 25% by increasing true winding time, not by pushing machines harder.
Changeovers became fewer and faster, and maintenance ownership prevented availability drift.
Strategic Takeaway
- The fastest capacity is often the changeover you do not have to do.
- Most new-line discussions start before current line time is fully recovered.
Contact Gemba Concepts
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