Definition of FIFO Lanes

A FIFO lane stands for First-In, First-Out. This automatically gives the first part of a definition,
which requires that the parts leave in the same sequence as they arrive. However, since the FIFO
lane is part of a pull system, it needs to incorporate the definition of pull from above and needs to
have an upper limit on inventory. A FIFO lane is an inventory where the parts leave in the same
sequence as they arrive. There is a limit to the maximum inventory. If the FIFO lane is full, the
receding process stops”.

The First-In-First-Out (FIFO) principles after One Piece flow the most desirable inventory
strategy, to keep inventories as small as possible and therefore waiting times as short as possible.
A FIFO LANE is a controlled inventory point between two process steps, which has a
maximum number of products in it (1) and a fixed sequence in which products are taken out of
the inventory (2).

WHEN one piece flow is not an option, FIFO might be the right pull connection. In the
following situations, FIFO could be used: 

 When B has longer changeover times than A. the FIFO prevents A from waiting when B is
working on a changeover.
 When B is a bottleneck machine. The FIFO prevents B from idling when A has a change over or
a breakdown.
 When the physical distance between A and B is relatively large, in which case Transport might
be done in batches.
 In Mixed Model environments where cycle times vary on B. The FIFO prevents idling time on
machine A when B is working on products with longer cycle times.
THE SIZE OF THE FIFO can be calculated using the time which needs to be buffered in each of the
above situations. 
 For long change over times on machine B, the total time for change overs is leading:
Number of positions = ((Total Change over Time machine B / Takt)
 For situations in which B is a Bottleneck machine, the Mean time to Repair (MTTR) is also
taken into account:
Number of positions = ((Total change over time machine A / Takt) + (MTTRA / Takt )
 When the distance between A and B is relatively long, the interval of delivery is leading:
Number of positions = (Delivery interval / Takt)
 In mixed model environment, the buffer needs to compensate for sum of cycle times above takt:
Number of positions =  (sum of cycle times above takt) / takt)

 
What does a FIFO look like in praxis? The remaining part of this article describes four examples of FIFO: the
conveyor belt (1), the one way street (2), using cones (3) and time registration (4).
 
 Illustration 1: FIFO as conveyor belt for one product (left) or multiple products (right)
FIFO AS CONVEYOR BELT (illustration 1) or a sloping rack on which crates with products are
automatically roll forwards are the most simple forms to implement the FIFO principle. The length of the belt
determines the maximum of products in the FIFO and sequence is automatically kept because the products
move automatically when a product is taken of the belt.
 

Illustration 2: FIFO as one way street with one product (left) and multiple products (right)
FIFO AS ONE-WAY STREET (illustration 2) shows a FIFO concept for products who do not fit on a belt or
in crates. Carts can be put in marked areas on the shop-floor with an in- and output side. There are even ways
of putting metal rails on the floor to make sure sequence is kept and make it impossible to take a cart out
backwards. 
 

Illustration 3:a FIFO system with Cones

A little more complicated is the USE OF CONES (illustration 3) to determine which order or cart is to be
worked on next. This can be used in situations where orders do not fit on one rack or cart, when the carts
cannot simply be pushed into a next position or when the products are too fragile to be pushed and bumped by
other carts. This system requires more employee discipline, because the system can be ignored relatively easy.
The cone system works as follows: carts are positioned from left to right and the cone shows the ´oldest´ cart,
which means it is the first cart to be taken out of the FIFO by the downstream station. When the oldest cart is
taken out, the employee moves the cone one position to the right, the new ´oldest´ cart. The upstream
workstation can now start producing a new cart of products for the empty slot in the lane.
 
A fourth example of FIFO system is to use TIME REGISTRATION on the products. When cycle times are
relatively high, an employee can log the date and time as soon as a cart is put in the FIFO lane. One way of
visualizing this system is to use digital clocks, where the clock starts counting as soon as a product is put in the
slot. A second possibility is to use whiteboard stickers and markers to literally write down the times on the
carts.  Both these systems, the downstream employee can look at the times and decide which order to take
next.
Implementing FIFO is not always easy and can, especially using cones or time registration, require some
discipline. Keeping the sequence of orders is important to reduce variation (mura) between order lead-times
and minimize the possible number defects when a defect is found.
Only when the concept of fixed sequence cannot be kept, a supermarket should be implemented, possibly with
Kanban as signaling tool.

The Rules for FiFo

There are basically two rules that are important for FiFo lanes:

No part can overtake another part

The first part that goes into the buffer is also the first part that comes out, hence the
name FiFo for First-In-First-Out. The sequence of parts has to be maintained. No part
can overtake another part in the lane. No part can squeeze in from the outside either.

This rule is important to avoid fluctuations in throughput time. One of the goals of lean
manufacturing is to have a smooth material flow. If parts overtake each other, then the
waiting time for the other parts will be longer, and can potentially be much longer.
Eventually the delayed parts will be too late too.
 Imagine you’re standing at the supermarket
checkout, with ten people in line in front of you. While it may take some time, you can
estimate how long it will take you to pay and leave. Now imagine someone cutting in
line in front of you. Certainly, you will have to wait longer. Now imagine every third
person cutting in line in front of you. Your waiting time can be very unpleasant.
While in manufacturing parts won’t get upset if they wait in line longer, the customers
waiting for the parts certainly will (as will your friends and family if you do not show up
with the groceries).

There must be a clearly defined maximum capacity

The second rule requires the FiFo lane to have a clearly defined maximum capacity.
There must be an upper limit, after which the preceding processes have no more space
in the lane to put parts and must stop. When the FiFo is full, the preceding process
must stop.

By the way, there is no explicit rule for a minimum capacity. The minimum capacity of a
FiFo lane is zero. Since it is impossible to have less than zero parts in the lane, we need
no extra rule to cover impossible cases. If there are no parts, the next downstream
process has to stop.

The reason for this rule is to avoid overproduction. Overproduction is one of the seven
types of waste (Japanese: muda), and according to common wisdom it is the worst type
of waste. If you produce too much, your system will be clogging up. Everything will be
slower, waste increases, throughput time increases, and your system will be anything but
lean.
Advantages of FiFo Lanes
A FiFo lane has quite some advantages. First of all, it is a clearly defined material flow.
You avoid overproduction and stuffing your system since the upstream process must
stop if a certain inventory limit is reached (the downstream process stops anyway if the
buffer is empty). Fluctuations on throughput time are reduced, and it is more likely that
your parts will be completed on time. No part will be forgotten in the system until it is
too late, with either the customer complaining or the part becoming old or obsolete.
It is a lean material flow. Due to the upper limit on FiFo lanes, it is not possible to
overfill the system. Your system will still be able to react (relatively quickly) to changes in
demand. Your total work in progress and inventory is capped. All seven types of waste
(of which overproduction is the worst) will be reduced. Overall it is more efficient.
It is also a clearly defined information flow. You do not need to tell the processes at
the end of the FiFo line what to do. They simply process whatever part comes down the
lane. This takes a lot of management overhead off your chest. You only need to control
the first process in a FiFo system; all the others manage themselves (at this
point, Kanban are very useful to control the first process).
FiFo also helps visual management. It is usually easy to see if a FiFo lane is full or
empty, giving you lots of clues on the status of the system, as for example
the bottleneck. If you or your employees notice the FiFO getting rather full or unusually
empty, they may investigate why and may be able to fix a problem before it becomes
critical. Never underestimate the ability to go and see directly what is going on in your
system.

Examples of FiFo Lanes

Finally, I have a few examples on FiFo lanes. One example that probably all of you have
experienced at one point or another is waiting with other people for a process. This may
be at the supermarket checkout, airplane check-in, the ticket window, the toilet, a fast
food counter, or any kind of one-person-at-a-time service. Hopefully for you, the system
utilized a FiFo lane. This is probably the most fair approach. Which of the two queues
below would you rather be in?
 Inspired by “How to stand in line” by artist Yang Liu in
her book East meets West.

Below is another example, the assembly line. The number of parts in the line is limited,
and the parts – in this case the cars – don’t overtake each other.

Volkswagen Beetle Assembly Line

Below is one of the first assembly lines in the world: the line of Henry Ford producing his
model T, or in the image below the magneto line.
 Ford assembly line 1913

1.3 Definition of Supermarkets
A supermarket differs from a FIFO lane in that the material flow and the
information flow splits. In a FIFO lane, the material automatically includes the
information on what the material is. If material is removed from a
supermarket, the information on the part goes back to the beginning of the
kanban loop to replenish the part. This information is the kanban. A
supermarket consists of multiple parallel FIFO lanes, one for each material
type that is handled by the supermarket. As with the FIFO lane, the
supermarket has an upper limit on the number of parts, although this is
usually maintained through the number of kanban in circulation and not
implemented separately. This leads us to our definition of supermarket “A
supermarket is an inventory where the parts are stored separately by type. The
parts by type leave in the same sequence as they arrive. When a part leaves,
information is sent back along the value stream to replenish the part”.