Top 6 Quick Changeover Techniques for Garment Industry

What is Quick Changeover

Quick changeover refers to converting a production line or machine from running one product to another. Quick change over often referred to as Quick Change over (QCO) or Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) in the context of the garments industry, is a lean manufacturing technique that focuses on reducing the time it takes to switch from one production task to another.

Benefits of Effective Quick Changeover

Implementing effective changeover practices can yield several benefits for garment manufacturers, including:

• Increased production flexibility and responsiveness to market demands.
• Reduced downtime and improved overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Enhanced quality control and consistency in product output.
• Cost savings through optimized production scheduling and resource utilization

Steps Of Quick Changeover (QCO)

Set up the team
To conduct a practical changeover workshop, it is urgent to have a proficient team including three to five members. The team should consist of a changeover operator, a supervisor overseeing the changeover process, and an engineer or technician well-versed with the involved machines and processes.

What To Measure
Before measuring, you should ensure the entire process is measured, not just part. The changeover begins after the last part is produced at full speed and ends with the first part made at the total rate. It is easy to overlook, for

Inform core Workers
When measuring times on the floor or recording videos, it is necessary to inform the workers and their representatives. This will help ensure that the process is running smoothly. Even though you may have the legal right to measure and record videos without the workers’ consent, your measurements will likely only be helpful if the workers agree. If the workers want to avoid being counted, they can slow down their work; in some cases, they could even add extra steps to the procedure, which may go unnoticed. Therefore, always seek their agreement to avoid any potential problems.

1. Measure Quick Changeover Time

• The SMED process begins with a detailed observation of the changeover procedure. It is essential to identify each step involved in the process and measure the time required for the changeover process. Recording a video can be helpful as it allows a re-watch of the steps and easy measurement of durations. However, be sure to obtain the approval of the workers and their representatives before recording any videos or taking any time measurements.
• Observing multiple changeovers is essential since different people may perform them differently at other times. Keeping at least three changes is recommended to ensure accuracy, considering the duration and frequency of each. Once completed, a list of steps and an average action time should be created.

2. Identify Internal and External Elements

• External Elements Means
  What we can do with the Current Machine
• Internal Elements Means,
  Which operation needs to change the machine

3. Move Internal Elements

• Need to observe Change operations with current operations.
• It is then separated from other Operations.
• Check Machine availability in this change operation.
• Check operator skill in this change operation.

4. Shorten External Elements

After we removed the Internal Operations, we only left similar operations. For this operation, the thing is ready.

• Machine
• Operator Skill
• Methods

So, the feeding team can go quickly in this operation.

5. Shorten Internal Elements

After we shorten External operations, we focus on changed operations on the Below points,
1. Operation Criticalness.
2. Type of machines.
3. Operator Skill.
4. Method we are going to implement

6. Standardize and Maintain

The last step of the process is the most difficult and most commonly overlooked. It is not enough to do a quick changeover just once; you need to do it quickly every time. Therefore, you must establish a new standard, document it, train all relevant workers on the new process, and confirm it. If you maintain a standard this way, you will soon see the benefits of a smoother and more efficient operation.

Start-Up Means

A new style that takes time feeding to peak Efficiency.

Bucket Lost Means

Bucket loss means the difference between the Previous style’s ending efficiency and the new style’s first-day efficiency.

Importance of Quick Changeover (QCO)

1. Increased Efficiency
2. Reduced Wastage
3. Improved Flexibility
4. Enhanced Quality Control
5. Employee Engagement
6. Cost Savings
7. Competitive Advantage
8. Continuous Improvement
9. Operator Skill Developing
10. CPM Will Be Decreasing

Conclusion