A Simple Story with a Big Lesson
In one of my workshops, I asked participants to imagine this:
You walk into the LCBO, and the clerk says:
“Sorry, machines are down , we only have white wine today.”
How many customers would turn around and leave? Most of the room agreed: more than half.
Then I took them to Tim Hortons. “Imagine it’s morning rush hour, and they can only serve cappuccinos.”
Hands shot up. Six out of ten people said they’d walk out.
At Walmart, though, the story shifted. “What if Walmart only had brown shirts today?”
This time, seven out of ten people said they’d still buy.
In just five minutes, we calculated how many customers each of these businesses would lose simply because they couldn’t “change over” efficiently.
Now think about your factory floor.
Every time a machine sits idle during a setup, you’re essentially telling your customers:
“Only white wine today.”
Some might wait. Many won’t.
The Hidden Cost of Slow Changeovers
- A 45-minute setup Ă— 3 per day = 135 minutes lost daily
- That’s nearly 12 hours of idle equipment per week
- Or more than 600 hours of lost capacity per year
That’s an entire shift per week of production — gone.
And all of it comes before you’ve even thought about new equipment, overtime, or late penalties.
What Faster Changeovers Deliver for SMEs
By reducing setup times from hours to minutes, you can:
✅ Increase throughput – make more parts without new machines
✅ Shorten lead times – respond faster and keep customers loyal
✅ Boost margins – reduce costly overtime and firefighting
✅ Delay capital spend – protect cash flow by avoiding premature machine purchases
Why You Should Care
Your competitors aren’t winning because they have bigger plants.
They’re winning because they can change faster.
Every lost setup minute is a lost order, a lost margin, and a lost customer.
Try It Yourself
👉 Use our free SMED Calculator and find out how many “extra shifts” are already hiding in your plant.