A Conceptual Framework for Reducing Changeover Time in Batch Production Facilities

—Changeover time is typically one of the most critical aspects that significantly affect the overall effectiveness of manufacturing systems. Basically, changeover time has been identified as a major source for efficiency declines in production facilities as it drastically consumes time as well as other resources with no added value. Particularly, in small to medium sized manufacturing systems that rely on batch production in achieving the product variety that can cope with customer requirements, changeover time reduction is a key enabler for achieving the organization strategic objectives. This paper provides a review for the methodologies commonly employed for quick changeover. Besides, it highlights the case studies in literature that successfully employed such methodologies in changeover time reduction. Furthermore, a conceptual framework that provides a systematic and straightforward guide for identifying and improving changeover activities has been presented in this paper. The proposed framework is mainly based on the DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) and DMADV (Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify) six sigma methodologies. The framework adopted the DMAIC/DMADV as an integrated approach that can be customized to provide the essential roadmap for reducing changeover time.