Before we dive in, let’s start with a quick quiz.
What do you think is the tyre change time in Formula 1 racing?
Less than two seconds.
While this level of speed is impressive—almost expected—in motorsport, changeover time is no less critical in manufacturing. In fact, within the lean manufacturing paradigm, changeover is one of the largest and most underestimated forms of waste.
What Exactly Is Changeover Time?
Changeover time is defined as the duration between the last good part of Product A and the first good part of Product B. This definition is important because it goes beyond machine adjustment alone.
It includes:
- Tooling and setup activities
- Adjustments and trial runs
- Inspection and approval by the quality team for the first-off of Product B
Until that first good part is approved, the process is not truly producing value.
How Do You Reduce Changeover Time?
The complete answer could fill an entire book, but the core principle is simple and powerful:
Convert internal activities into external activities.
- Internal activities require the machine to be stopped.
- External activities can be performed while the machine is still running.
The goal is to push as many tasks as possible into the external category and reduce unavoidable internal activities to the absolute minimum. This is the foundation of effective changeover reduction.
Why Changeover Is So Challenging
Among all forms of waste, changeover time is often the most difficult to attack—and the most technically demanding. It cannot be solved by one department alone.
Successful changeover reduction always requires a cross-functional team (CFT) approach, involving production, maintenance, quality, tooling, and engineering. Without collaboration across functions, meaningful and sustainable improvement is unlikely.
When done right, reducing changeover time dramatically improves flexibility, flow, and responsiveness—bringing manufacturing one step closer to true lean performance.
#LeanManufacturing
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