Written by the industrial engineer who developed SMED (single-minute exchange of die) for Toyota, this title presents an overview of this powerful just in time production tool. It offers the instructions available anywhere for transforming a manufacturing environment in ways that can speed up production and make small lot inventories feasible.

Publisher's Preface, Foreword, Introduction, PART ONE: THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE SMED SYSTEM, 1. The Structure of Production, 2. Setup Operations in the Past, 3. Fundamentals of SMED, 4. Techniques for Applying SMED, 5. Applying SMED to Internal Operations, 6. Basic Examples of SMED, 7. Effects of SMED, PART TWO: THE SMED SYSTEM -- CASE STUDIES, 8. Implementing SMED, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Washing Machine Division (Mikuni Plant), 9. Setup Improvements Based on the Toyota Production System, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., 10. A Quick-Setting ("Q-S") Campaign , Nippon Kogaku K.K. (Oi Plant), 11. Using SMED on a Farm Machinery Processing Line, Kubota, Ltd. (Sakai Plant), 12. Setup Improvements Based on Shop Circle Activities, Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd., 13. Comprehensive Development of the SMED Concept to Include Affiliated Plants, Arakawa Auto Body Industries K.K., 14. SMED Developments in Producing Slide Bearings , T.H. Kogyo K.K., 15. Examples and Effects of the SMED System, Glory Industries K.K., 16. Achievement of SMED Through Company-Wide Activities, Kyoei Kogyo K.K., 17. SMED in Tire Manufacturing Processes, Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd., 18. Using SMED for Aluminum Die-Casting Dies, Tsuta Machine and Metals Co., Ltd., 19. The Shingo One-Touch Die Exchange System: The Boltless Method, Postscript, About the Author, Index