Minimize Setup: How long is it worth it?

Detailed production sequencing systems, or fine production programming, such as Opcenter APS, operate using parameterized heuristics from priority criteria defined for sequencing. One of the main criteria used by the industries is the minimization of setups or exchanges , which refer to the activities needed to prepare a machine, equipment or production line before the beginning of a new order of production or product change.

But to what extent is this worth it?

From one perspective, minimizing setups reduces losses associated with unnecessary operations and lead time (the total time between order placement and product delivery). However, this practice can also lead to increased inventory, early production, and even mes deadlines. Minimizing setups is only beneficial to the extent that it benefits the business strategy as a whole, not just the manufacturing sector .

There is an intrinsic logic in reducing exchanges: the less setups, the lower waste - as operations that do not add direct value to the final product are avoided. In addition, the efficiency of productive resources increases, as more time of available capacity is used in production, and less time is wasted in unproductive activities. As a result, MakeSpan (total time required to complete a set of tasks or production orders) tends to decrease, which can positively impact customer delivery time.

On the other hand, avoiding setups at any cost can generate other losses. The two most common are:

• Overproduction : when more than necessary and/or before necessary, generating loss in anticipation;

• Excessive stocks : when the production or purchase of materials exceeds real demand.

To avoid setups, it's common to anticipate the production of certain products, which leads to inventory accumulation, premature resource consumption, and the need for storage, whether of intermediate or finished products. In this scenario, although productivity indicators, such as the OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) performance pillar, may show improvement, other indicators such as OTD (On-Time Delivery), Inventory Days, and Inventory Turnover tend to worsen. OTD is compromised by failing to produce what was needed at the right time; inventory days are increased by producingmes without anticipated consumption; and inventory turnover automatically decreases.

To understand to what extent it is worth avoiding setups, it is essential to analyze the company's strategic objectives and the indicators that measure its reach - always focusing on long -term sustainability. Remember that good local results do not always represent a healthy business aligned with global strategy. This reinforces the importance of a horizontal analysis of business processes, so that the decision on setups is made for the benefit of the whole, not specific areas.

As an example, we can think of generic goals, common to any industry: delivering products on time, with quality and expected amount . Thus, setups should be avoided only to the point where they do not compromise these goals.

Production planning and sequencing solutions such as Opcenter APS offer agility, flexibility and robustness in the generation of information and the support of decision making, allowing the balancing between productive and strategic criteria in a intelligent and effective way that support decision making, by parameterization of sequencing heuristics, definition of minimization and maximization criteria, which allow us to generate numerous. sequencing scenarios in a few minutes.

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