SMED Quick Changeover for High-Mix, Low-Volume Manufacturing (The Lean Line Pro Deep Dive Series, #2)

Stop Losing 60% of Your Capacity to Setup Time.

In high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) manufacturing, long changeovers are one of the biggest hidden constraints. Frequent setups force oversized batches, create excess WIP, disrupt schedules, and keep teams stuck in constant firefighting.

Traditional SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die) training assumes stable demand, dedicated equipment, and repeatable production. In job shops and high-variation environments, those assumptions rarely hold.

This book shows a better way.

In SMED for High-Mix, Low-Volume Manufacturing, manufacturing engineer Nick Arkesteyn adapts SMED for the realities of high-mix operations-without unrealistic assumptions, expensive automation, or textbook theory.

This is a practical, step-by-step guide focused on execution: what to change, how to change it, and how to make the gains stick on real shop floors.

Inside this book, you'll learn how to:

• Understand the math behind setup reduction-and why cutting setup time in half is equivalent to buying a new machine for free • Separate Internal vs. External setup work to achieve immediate, measurable gains • Simplify and standardize setups using common interfaces, modular tooling, and smart fixture design • Reduce wasted motion and variability during changeovers • Run focused Kaizen events that change operator behavior and prevent backsliding

This is not a theoretical lean textbook. It's written for manufacturing engineers, operations managers, plant managers, and continuous improvement leaders who need results in high-mix environments.

SMED for High-Mix, Low-Volume Manufacturing is Volume 2 of the Lean Line Pro Deep Dive Series. It builds on the foundation established in Volume 1 (Product Families) and adds the speed required to make high-mix production flow.

If your shop feels constrained by long setups-but full of hidden capacity-this book will show you how to unlock it.