SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies) is a methodology for drastically reducing setup time — the changeover of a machine between two products or references. The name comes from the original goal (reduce setups to under 10 minutes, i.e. a single digit of minutes) and the technique was systematised by Shigeo Shingo in Japan in the 1960s-70s. The impact is enormous: with short setups, you produce in small batches without penalising cost, which reduces stock, speeds up response to demand and frees up capital.
The SMED technique rests on distinguishing between internal setup (which must be done with the machine stopped) and external setup (which can be prepared while the machine is still producing the previous batch). Moving tasks from internal to external, standardising procedures, eliminating trial-and-error adjustments — the typical steps of a SMED workshop reduce setups by 50-75% in the first iteration.
In KORA Productivity, setups are recorded as a configurable stoppage category — it allows the real setup time per machine and per product to be measured, compared with post-SMED target times, and it identifies operators who have mastered the technique versus those who need coaching.