Benefits of Setup Reduction:
- Reduce lead time, resulting in improved delivery Improve documentation of setup processes, leading to improved processes - Decreased inventory and costs, while increasing capacity

Setup reduction is the process of reducing changeover time (i.e., from the last good piece of the previous run to the first good piece of the next run). Since setup activities add no marketable form, fit, or function to the product, they are by definition non-value adding. The tool for tackling setup time is the Four-Step Rapid Setup method. The principle of this method is to eliminate anything that interrupts or hinders productivity. The following steps provide a high level description of the Four-Step Rapid Setup method:

Step # 1 - Identify and tabulate any process-related activity that fits into one or more of the following categories:
- Activity that delays the start of value-added work Activity that causes interruptions to value-added work
- Activity where it is similar or identical to another task in the process

Step #2 - See if any of the interruptive/delaying tasks can be offloaded: Our focus here is to move preparatory work outside of the main process flow so that information or material ends up waiting for you, not the other way around. The goal is to quickly complete value-added work without any non-value-added activity.

Step # 3 - Streamline or automate any interruptive/delaying tasks that cannot be offloaded.

Step # 4 - Bring the process under statistical control: The setup is not complete until the output of the process is "within specification" and under statistical control, meaning the amount of variation in lead time is within predictable limits of +/- 3 sigma.