Technological globalisation at the start of the 21st century has intensified the competitiveness of industry, even for companies in hard-to-reach regions that were previously protected from global competition. This paper describes a methodology for increasing operational efficiency in a small automotive gear industry by reducing machine setup times. A descriptive and analytical study of the factory analysed was carried out in four stages: (1st) a detailed analysis of the gear production processes; (2nd) a study of the operation of the milling machine in gear production; (3rd) an analysis of the gear milling process; (4th) a complete study of the milling machine setup times and movements during production. A detailed spreadsheet of times and movements was obtained, from which a proposal was drawn up to reduce setup time, as in Shingo (2000) adapted by Souza (2009). The conclusion is that the methodology is viable in other small metalworking industries, since it was possible to reduce the average setup time of the milling machine by 38.6%, at practically zero cost, bringing benefits in the short and long term.