Purging Issues (which encompass changes in color and/or resin type and the removal of contamination from the equipment) historically have received little attention from engineering and production managements. The pressures to optimize productivity that prevail in the modern industrial environment make this kind of inattention unaccptable. This presentation describes a systematic approach to the evaluation and resolution of these issues that is commensurate with the importance of their impact on productivity and gives examples of the benefits derived when such an approach is adopted.