EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF SMED METHODOLOGY ON THE SETUP TIME AND UNIT COST: APPLICATION IN THE STEEL BAR PEELING PRODUCTION LINE

Competition is one of the most important factors in determining the independence of product prices. Increasing competition conditions cause sales prices of products and services not to be determined by enterprises. On the other hand, competition forces companies to seek alternative methods and tools. Production companies increase their investments in production technologies in order to increase the efficiency of the process. The product quality is increased and the production times are shortened by the effect of these investments. In spite of the positive results of the investments, operating costs have been negatively affected and production costs have increased significantly. The two factors that affect the level of companies’ profitability are the sale price and conversion costs. The profitability of the companies decreased due to the determination of the sales price in the market conditions and the increase in the operating costs. As a result, it is necessary to manage the operating costs better in order to increase the level of profitability of the enterprises and to continue the operational activities. The companies initially focused on reducing department cost items. Due to the limited results, they realized that the actual losses were in the production process. It is important how effectively the unit time is used in a process where production costs are high. Therefore, process-oriented thinking has gained weight and companies have begun to try to improve the production process. The problem of uncontrollable production processes in traditional production enterprises is that the number of non-value-added activities and their weight are high. Actual production time is low due to the high number of chronic problems such as failure, adjustment and waiting. On the other hand, the total adjustment period has increased due to changing customer expectations, increasing product variety, and decreasing demand size. As a result, the actual production time is further reduced. One of the most important posture losses in uncontrolled production processes is the adjustment and preparation processes. Under changing conditions, the adjustment time has become more important. The SMED methodology is one of the methods frequently used to improve the setup process. It is a lean manufacturing tool that focuses on the creation and development of a systematic setup process with the aim of reducing the losses of enterprises. The SMED Methodology contributes to the adjustment and improvement of the machinery or equipment to be performed with minimum setup time. In this