Unstructured Startup Overhead
Shift startup consumed 30-50 minutes daily with no standardization. Duration and procedure varied by shift. Pre-shift material staging was inconsistent; quality verification procedures were ad-hoc.
What Became Visible
Startup procedure analysis revealed best-performing shift (well-documented procedures) took 15 minutes; poorest took 50+ minutes. The best shift had: pre-shift material staging, equipment checks, first-piece verification. These procedures were documented and repeatable.
Startup Process Standardization
Optimal startup procedures documented and trained to all shifts. Digital startup checklist implemented; accountability tracking added.
How it worked: Standardized procedure + digital checklist + training ensured consistent, efficient startup across all shifts.
Results
vs 30-50 min variance
from startup optimization
Startup time is often invisible in daily OEE targets because it happens at shift boundary. Making it visible and standardizing procedures recovers significant capacity.
Operational Reality
Startup time is often 'accepted' as necessary overhead. Systematization reveals it's highly optimizable.