# Mold Changeover Time Log Worksheet > Source: https://netray.co/tools/mold-changeover-time-log-worksheet > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Log each mold change by phase, total the minutes and see which jobs miss your changeover target. ## Category mes-shop-floor ## Industry Plastics and Injection Molding ## Audience - Production supervisor - Lean coordinator - Process engineer ## Tool **Kind:** worksheet **Mode:** editable **Columns:** #### Date **Key:** date **Type:** date #### Press **Key:** press **Type:** text #### Mold out to in **Key:** mold **Type:** text #### Teardown **Key:** teardown **Type:** number **Unit:** min #### Mold install **Key:** install **Type:** number **Unit:** min #### Heat up **Key:** heat **Type:** number **Unit:** min #### Tune to first good part **Key:** tune **Type:** number **Unit:** min #### Total downtime **Key:** total **Type:** number **Expr:** teardown + install + heat + tune **Format:** minutes #### Target **Key:** target **Type:** number **Unit:** min #### Over target **Key:** over **Type:** number **Expr:** max(0, total - target) **Format:** minutes **Rows:** **Date:** 2026-10-12 **Press:** P07 **Mold:** M-0211 to M-0388 **Teardown:** 22 **Install:** 35 **Heat:** 40 **Tune:** 55 **Target:** 120 **Date:** 2026-10-13 **Press:** P12 **Mold:** M-0417 to M-0392 **Teardown:** 18 **Install:** 28 **Heat:** 30 **Tune:** 25 **Target:** 120 **Date:** 2026-10-14 **Press:** P03 **Mold:** M-0101 to M-0207 **Teardown:** 30 **Install:** 45 **Heat:** 60 **Tune:** 70 **Target:** 150 **Date:** 2026-10-15 **Press:** P12 **Mold:** M-0392 to M-0417 **Teardown:** 16 **Install:** 26 **Heat:** 28 **Tune:** 20 **Target:** 120 **Date:** 2026-10-16 **Press:** P07 **Mold:** M-0388 to M-0150 **Teardown:** 20 **Install:** 33 **Heat:** 35 **Tune:** 38 **Target:** 120 **Totals:** #### Total changeover minutes **Key:** total **Agg:** sum **Format:** minutes #### Average changeover **Key:** total **Agg:** avg **Format:** minutes #### Total minutes over target **Key:** over **Agg:** sum **Format:** minutes **Summary:** #### Average heat up per change **Key:** avg_heat **Expr:** avg_heat **Format:** minutes **Description:** Heat up is often the largest block that can be moved offline. #### Average tuning per change **Key:** avg_tune **Expr:** avg_tune **Format:** minutes **Primary:** true **Description:** Tuning to the first good part usually shows how well the process sheet was followed. **Notes:** Record phases from the moment the previous job stops to the first good part. Time the mold change from the press operator's perspective, not from the lift truck. Review the largest phase each month and move work from internal to external time. ## Content **Intro:** A changeover log turns the feeling that mold changes take too long into numbers by phase. Enter each change, and the sheet totals the minutes and highlights how far you went over target. Export it to Excel for a monthly review. **Sections:** #### How to use the log **Body:** Use one row per mold change. Split the time into teardown, install, heat up and tuning to the first good part. Set a realistic target for each press and mold pair, since a small mold on a small press needs less time than a large hot runner tool. At the end of the week, sort by total or over target to find the changes that deserve a closer look. **Bullets:** - One row per change - Four phases so you can see where time goes - Targets per press and mold family - Review weekly with the setters #### The SMED idea behind the phases **Body:** Single minute exchange of die separates internal work, done with the press stopped, from external work that can be done while the previous job is still running. Preheating the incoming mold, staging water lines, hoses, tooling and material, and pre drying the next resin are the usual external moves. Heat up and tuning are typically the biggest opportunities, which is why the sheet keeps them separate. **Bullets:** - Preheat molds on a cart or at the press before the stop - Stage clamps, hoses and the next resin in advance - Use quick couplings and standard mounting heights - Write setter instructions and keep them with the mold #### Reading the results **Body:** Look at the average per phase before looking at the total. If heat up dominates, the answer is preheating or hot runner procedures. If tuning dominates, the process sheet or material condition is probably the issue. If teardown is long, check that water and electrical connections are standardized. A few extreme rows usually have a one off cause such as a damaged tool or the wrong resin, so annotate them in the mold column. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Teams often stop the clock at the first shot instead of the first good part, which hides tuning time. Another error is mixing planned maintenance with changeovers. If a cleaning or repair happens during the change, note it separately so the log stays comparable. Finally, setting the same target for every press makes the data less useful. **Cta:** If your downtime reasons are captured in an MES or ERP, we can help roll changeover minutes into the same reports so nobody retypes them. **Faq:** #### What is a good mold changeover time? **Answer:** It depends on mold size, hot runner, press and water connections. Many shops see 30 to 60 minutes on small tools and several hours on large ones. Compare against your own baseline and improve from there. #### Should heat up count as downtime? **Answer:** Yes if the press cannot make good parts during it. That is why preheating the mold externally is one of the first improvements to test. #### Can I add more phases? **Answer:** Export the sheet to Excel and add columns for cleaning, purge or color change if those are significant in your plant, then include them in the total formula. #### How do I set the target? **Answer:** Start from the average of your best recent changes on that press and mold type, then lower it as improvements land. Avoid targets that no one has ever achieved. ## Search terms mold changeover log, mold change time tracking excel, SMED injection molding worksheet, changeover time log template, mold change checklist time study, injection molding changeover reduction, quick mold change tracking --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json