A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System By Shigeo Shingo

Recommended by S Badri Narayana, Director – Operations Excellence, FLAME TAO Knoware

Why to read ‘A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System’?

Seen from the eyes of an industrial engineer who developed SMED – Single-Minute Exchange of Die – for Toyota, the book gives an industrial perspective on how to observe, conceptualize and implement solutions for the troubles faced on a production floor. Life lessons on ‘how to observe’ are its core offerings. It captures the essence of the tool, Just-in-Time, providing its full overview and offers the most complete and detailed instructions for transforming a manufacturing environment so as to speed up production and make small lot inventories feasible. The author delves into both the theory and practice of the SMED system, explaining fundamentals as well as techniques for applying SMED.

Acclaim for the book: Dr. Shingo’s visit to our plant was significant in making breakthroughs in productivity, which we previously thought was impossible. The benefits that we are receiving are more far-reaching than I had personally anticipated. Because of Dr. Shingo’s direction, we have been able to reduce changeover time from 4 to 5 hours to an average of 2.5 to 4 minutes. – Gifford M. Brown, Plant Manager, Cleveland Engine Plants, Ford Motor Company