What is the difference between internal and external changeover work?

Internal work can only be done while the machine is stopped, such as unclamping the old mould. External work can be done while the machine is still running the previous job or after it restarts, such as fetching the next mould and its tools. Converting internal steps to external ones is the first and usually cheapest SMED step: in the example, staging the mould and the tool cart before the stop takes 20 minutes out of the stopped time.

How is the annual saving calculated?

Minutes saved per changeover divided by 60, times changeovers per week, times production weeks per year, times the crew labour rate plus the machine hour rate. Cutting a changeover from 75 to 35 minutes, 8 times a week for 50 weeks, frees 266.7 hours a year; at 42 per hour for the crew and 60 for the machine that is 27,200 a year, the same as the Changeover Reduction calculator.

Is the saving real money?

It is the value of the hours freed, not a cash saving. It turns into money when the press uses the hours to make more good parts that sell, when overtime or a weekend shift is no longer needed, or when smaller batches cut inventory. The workbook labels it an estimate for that reason.

Why keep a changeover log after the study?

Because the planned times are a plan. The log records every real changeover with the new method and compares it with your target; the Dashboard shows the last twelve, the average and the share on target. If the logged times stay above the plan, the new standard is not being followed or the plan was optimistic, and either way you know before you report the saving.

What should I use as the machine hour rate?

Your own costing: the contribution an hour of output brings if the press is a bottleneck, or the burden rate if it is not. The example uses 75 per hour as a placeholder. The currency is the label you type on Setup; no exchange rate is applied.

Production and Throughput

SMED Changeover Analysis Excel Template

Break a changeover into steps, separate internal from external work, plan the future method, see the minutes and money it frees, and log real changeovers against your target.

Overview

This SMED changeover analysis workbook is for process and continuous-improvement engineers, setters and supervisors running a quick-changeover project. It ships with a fictional moulder's study of a mould change on a 250 tonne press, sixteen steps that take 149 machine-stopped minutes today and 35 with the planned method, plus the first twenty real changeovers with the new method, so the Dashboard is filled in the moment you open it.

Each step is marked internal (only possible with the machine stopped) or external (possible while it runs), today and planned. The changeover time is the sum of the internal minutes, last good part to first good part. The workbook adds them by step category to show where the stopped time goes and what each kind of action recovers, and values the hours freed with the same formula as the Changeover Reduction calculator on this site: minutes saved over 60, times changeovers per week, times production weeks, times the crew labour rate plus the machine hour rate. The savings are labelled an estimate: they become cash only when the freed hours make more good parts or remove overtime.

The log closes the loop. In the example the first changeovers with the new method take 50 to 54 minutes while the crew learns it, then settle in the low thirties: still above the 30 minute target, and above the 35 minute plan more often than not. The planned method itself stops at 35 minutes, so the Dashboard shows a project that has delivered most of its saving and has one more round of streamlining to go.

What this template includes

Step Study table, one row per changeover step: category, who does it, current type (internal or external) and minutes, the improvement action, and the planned type and minutes
Per step: internal and external minutes today and planned, and the machine-stopped minutes saved
Check column that names planning mistakes in words: a step marked convert to external that is still internal, an eliminated step that still has time, a step that got longer
Changeover Log of real changeovers after the change, with a status word against your target and the minutes over it
Dashboard with changeover time today and planned, the reduction, hours freed per year, the annual savings estimate in your currency and how the logged changeovers compare with the target
Two native charts: machine-stopped minutes by step category today and planned, and the last twelve logged changeovers against the plan and the target
Method sheet with every formula, and a Verify sheet that re-checks the formulas against an independent reference, including the Changeover Reduction calculator's example (Self-check: PASS)

Suggested use case

Use it for a SMED or quick-changeover workshop: record the changeover as it is done today from a video, decide what to convert, streamline or eliminate, put a number on the hours it frees, and then prove with the log that the new method holds on the shop floor.

How to use it

On Setup, name the machine and enter your currency label, crew labour rate, machine hour rate, changeovers per week, production weeks and target changeover time.
Video a real changeover and list every step on Step Study with its category, who does it, whether it is internal or external today, and its minutes.
For each step choose an action (convert to external, streamline, eliminate, do in parallel or keep as is) and enter the planned type and minutes.
Fix anything the Check column flags, then read the Dashboard: changeover today, planned, reduction and the savings estimate.
After the change, log every real changeover on the Changeover Log and watch the last twelve against the target.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between internal and external changeover work?: Internal work can only be done while the machine is stopped, such as unclamping the old mould. External work can be done while the machine is still running the previous job or after it restarts, such as fetching the next mould and its tools. Converting internal steps to external ones is the first and usually cheapest SMED step: in the example, staging the mould and the tool cart before the stop takes 20 minutes out of the stopped time.
How is the annual saving calculated?: Minutes saved per changeover divided by 60, times changeovers per week, times production weeks per year, times the crew labour rate plus the machine hour rate. Cutting a changeover from 75 to 35 minutes, 8 times a week for 50 weeks, frees 266.7 hours a year; at 42 per hour for the crew and 60 for the machine that is 27,200 a year, the same as the Changeover Reduction calculator.
Is the saving real money?: It is the value of the hours freed, not a cash saving. It turns into money when the press uses the hours to make more good parts that sell, when overtime or a weekend shift is no longer needed, or when smaller batches cut inventory. The workbook labels it an estimate for that reason.
Why keep a changeover log after the study?: Because the planned times are a plan. The log records every real changeover with the new method and compares it with your target; the Dashboard shows the last twelve, the average and the share on target. If the logged times stay above the plan, the new standard is not being followed or the plan was optimistic, and either way you know before you report the saving.
What should I use as the machine hour rate?: Your own costing: the contribution an hour of output brings if the press is a bottleneck, or the burden rate if it is not. The example uses 75 per hour as a placeholder. The currency is the label you type on Setup; no exchange rate is applied.