What is Setup Time?

In order to begin a detailed look into quoting and estimating, it is important to start with some definitions.

• Setup Time: The time it takes to make the first accepted piece, which includes bringing all the tools, jigs, and fixtures & setting up those jigs and fixtures for a particular batch quantity.  

• Operation Run time or Cycle Time: The time spent to complete each unit through the machine.

Overall, setup time can be simple or complex; it is dependent on the process being performed. Setup time is usually independent of the actual run time because once a machine is setup, it can be continually run without need for any additional setup for subsequent runs.

Below are some additional categories that setup time can be broken down into:

Staging Time

The time required to gather materials, dies, or any other equipment needed to get the machine running. Staging can potentially be performed during the running of another job with the machine since it may not require the machine to be available. A simple definition is time spent on a machine or process prior to a manufacturing run.

Setup Time

The time required to bring this production batch quantity to an actionable state.

Transit Time

Transit time is the time to move a particular batch quantity to another step in the process.

Tear Down Time

The tear down time required to remove all the equipment that was required to be setup on the machine making it ready for the next process. A job may continue to the next operation during the tear down time because this time does not affect the actual job — only the machine. A simple definition is the time to take down a machine or process after a manufacturing run.

Both Quoting and ERP packages through MIE Trak Pro provide the capability for these setup time variations in order to allow your estimating, costing, and even scheduling to be as accurate as possible.