FIFO (First in First out)
Getting parts out in the order they came in, whether on a component stock or between two workstations, with storage that enforces the rule instead of the operator.
This course is intended for team leaders, shop floor storekeepers, methods technicians and continuous improvement facilitators who manage a stock of components, work in progress or finished goods. It starts from a simple observation: when nothing prevents it, the operator takes the most accessible part, and the rest ages at the back of the shelf.
By the end of the course, you will be able to identify the stocks where FIFO brings something and those where it will change nothing, choose between a posted rule and a roller rack, size and mark out a FIFO lane between two workstations, then check two weeks later that the rule holds without supervision.
What you will be able to do
- Explain in one sentence what FIFO enforces and what it does not solve.
- Identify in your shop the stocks where FIFO adds value: expiry, obsolescence, processing order imposed by scheduling.
- Choose a storage method suited to the size of the parts: posted rule, shelving with dynamic rails, pallet racking accessible from both sides.
- Mark out a FIFO lane between two workstations with a maximum number of parts and a visible flow direction.
- Update the work standard, train the operators and audit compliance with the rule.
The path
- What FIFO requires, and where it makes the difference 4 min
- Deciding before investing: a posted rule or a rack 4 min
- Designing flow-through storage: the tube open at both ends 5 min
- The FIFO lane between two stations: a maximum, a direction, no overflow 5 min
- Making the rule hold: standard, training, audit 4 min
Prerequisites
No prior Lean knowledge. Have access to a real stock or work-in-progress area in your own shop to apply the exercises. Some notion of 5S helps but is not necessary.
The closing quiz
The topic ends with a 7-question quiz, and a certificate is issued on success.