Recently, I facilitated a kaizen event which was targeted at dramatically reducing the setup time of a Former-Winder twisting machine in a textile plant.  Naturally, we performed a SMED event; dedicating 3 days to the event and 2 days of prior videotaping (performed by me, under ‘normal’ conditions). A little background on the Former-Winder’s operation.  It is a machine that takes in raw material Yarns or Ends, twists them together into a strand, and winds them onto a 3 foot long bobbin.  The Yarns/Ends used can number anywhere from 2 and go up to 150 in some cases.  The bigger the yarn needed, the more raw material packages that will be required.  These raw material packages are put up onto fixtures, called Creels, that hold them while they feed out yarn.  The pictures show the creels in this case.

After loading the creels, the operator needs to install gearing that produces different levels of twist in the finished strand.  Creating a small sample allows the operator to perform a quick in-process check after changing the gears.  If it is okay, the operator puts in an empty bobbin and starts the machine.  If not, then he changes gears with engineering’s help (that’s what the ISO documentation says at any rate). Watching the video we put together this timeline, identifying the CURRENT STATE (i.e. the way in which it was currently being performed)External Setups in GREEN and the Internal Setups in RED:

• Get & read traveler (1 min.)
• Check prioritization (1 min.)
• Get gears (15 min.)
• Install gears (5 min.)
• Return gears to proper place (1 min.)
• Clean/grease machine (5 min.)
• Program computer (if necessary) (1 min.)
• Obtain/order material (45 min.)
• Creel placement (20 min.)
• Create material space (10 min.)
• Get/prepare cart (if necessary) (1 min.)
• Teardown (16 min.)
• Return material (several trips) (9 min.)
• Prepare & inspect creel (foam donuts, check eyelets, inc.) (2 min.)
• Check for/install small packages (10 min.)
• Get/install new packages (several trips) (22 min.)
• Untie packages & feed thru eyelets (38 min.)
• Setup distribution plate(s) (13 min.)
• Setup wax tank (if necessary)
• Locate & get proper die (5 min.)
• Install die (1 min.)
• Return old die to proper place (1 min.)
• Feed machine (6 min.)
• Run (.5 min.)
• Chalk for twist (TPF) (.5 min.)
• Stop & check TPF (.5 min.)
• Sign off by other person (.5 min.)
• Make adjustments (6.5 min.)
• Run (couple minutes)
• Stop & calculate weight/counts (repeat if necessary)
• Check traveler for QTY (.5 min.)
• Run Machine

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76% Internal:  179 min = 2.98 hours

24% External:  58 min = .97 hours

Total Time:   237 min. = 3.95 hours

We then went through this list and created a ‘theoretical’ best case scenario that showcased the true Internal and External Setups.  Some of these are not even possible due to current technologies owned by the company:

• Get & read traveler (1 min.)
• Check prioritization (1 min.)
• Get gears (15 min.)
• Install gears (5 min.)
• Return gears to proper place (1 min.)
• Clean/grease machine (5 min.)
• Program computer (if necessary) (1 min.)
• Obtain/order material (45 min.)
• Creel placement (20 min.)
• Create material space (10 min.)
• Get/prepare cart (if necessary) (1 min.)
• Teardown (16 min.)
• Return material (several trips) (9 min.)
• Prepare & inspect creel (foam donuts, check eyelets, inc.) (2 min.)
• Check for/install small packages (10 min.)
• Get/install new packages (several trips) (22 min.)
• Untie packages & feed thru eyelets (38 min.)
• Setup distribution plate(s) (13 min.)
• Setup wax tank (if necessary)
• Locate & get proper die (5 min.)
• Install die (1 min.)
• Return old die to proper place (1 min.)
• Feed machine (6 min.)
• Run (.5 min.)
• Chalk for twist (TPF) (.5 min.)
• Stop & check TPF (.5 min.)
• Sign off by other person (.5 min.)
• Make adjustments (6.5 min.)
• Run (couple minutes)
• Stop & calculate weight/counts (repeat if necessary)
• Check traveler for QTY (.5 min.)
• Run Machine

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11% Internal:  26.5 min = .44 hours

89% External:  210.5 min = 3.51 hours