Case Study: Application of SMED on a Packaging Line in a Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

Indeed, corporate establishments are always subject to business competition. The pharmaceutical industry, for example, seeks to become more competitive in relation to the others by reducing the production costs of its medicines. This is aimed at deducting sales prices, with the consequent greater adherence of its products by the target audience. In this sense, the SMED methodology becomes a great ally in the continuous improvement of processes and production methods, with the main objective of saving time and increasing production flexibility. Thus, this work aims to present a case study developed in a large pharmaceutical industry, aiming to analyze the performance of the application of the SMED methodology in the standardization and optimization of SETUP activities in the solid medicine packaging line. The four stages of execution proposed by Shingo, the creator of the method, were applied, proving their effectiveness in the face of the study system.