On a job shop floor, setup is often the biggest single stop of the day — and the one least likely to be timed. The clock starts when the last good part of one job comes off and stops when the first good part of the next one passes inspection.
What setup time includes
- Removing the old fixture, jaws or vise, and cleaning the table
- Mounting and indicating the new fixture
- Loading tools and setting tool and work offsets
- Loading and proving out the program
- First-off inspection, plus any adjustment until the part is good
The last two are easy to forget, but a machine that’s waiting on first-off approval is still in setup — it isn’t making sellable parts yet.
Setup vs changeover
Most shops use the two words for the same thing. Where they are kept apart, the difference is scope:
Scope
- Setup time
- One machine
- Changeover time
- The whole switch — one machine or a line
Ends at
- Setup time
- Machine ready to run
- Changeover time
- First good part of the new job
Includes cleanup and first-off approval?
- Setup time
- Not always
- Changeover time
- Yes
| Setup time | Changeover time | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One machine | The whole switch — one machine or a line |
| Ends at | Machine ready to run | First good part of the new job |
| Includes cleanup and first-off approval? | Not always | Yes |
Pick one definition for your shop and use it everywhere. Comparing a setup timed one way against another timed the other way only produces arguments.
Measuring it on the floor
A controller can tell you the machine stopped. It can’t tell you why — a setup, a missing tool and a tea break all look the same from the machine’s side. So setup time needs a reason attached to the stop.
ThingConnect records every stop from the controller, and the stop can then be classified with a reason, such as setup. Once stops carry reasons, setup time per job and per machine becomes a number you can track — and the place to start if you’re applying SMED. See downtime tracking for how stops are classified.