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A clearer start for every cut order

Stock identity + FIFO + SMED. Follow the visual, practise a decision, then check your thinking.

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Fictional teaching examples and AI-generated illustrations. Proposed changes and goals are not achieved results. Use the written instructions and check local conditions before applying a method.

Teaching view 1 of 2

Keep stock identity through the whole route

A stock-return decision routes identified usable material, unresolved material and scrap separately, alongside a finite FIFO lane. — AI-generated teaching illustration. Follow the steps below, then try the practice question. View full size ↗

The retained fifteen order-preparation search observations have a 4.8-minute median and 2-minute goal. Preserve grade, identity and traceability through preparation and return. A FIFO lane controls sequence only when entry, exit, capacity and exception rules are defined. Unknown material must not be made usable by a new label alone. The clean floor and stock layout cannot prove coolant source correction or a safe cutting method.

Follow the method

Confirm order + stock identity
Stage approved material
Perform authorized work
Return: identified / hold / scrap
Replenish from use

Read the example carefully

Retained order-preparation search: 15 observations, median 4.8 minutes; proposed goal 2 minutes. It runs from released order to readiness of identified stock and verified preparation items.

Identified usable stock follows its approved return route; uncertain identity goes to hold; scrap follows authorized disposition. A new label alone cannot establish identity.

A FIFO lane needs entry, exit, capacity and exception rules. A full lane triggers the defined stop or escalation response.

Try it before revealing the answer

What happens when the FIFO lane is full?

Reveal the answer and reasoning

Use the agreed stop/escalation rule; do not add an untracked overflow pile.

Teaching view 2 of 2

Prepare externally; protect the controlled change

A controlled change separates approved external preparation from internal stopped-equipment work and ends with first-good-output verification. — AI-generated teaching illustration. Follow the steps below, then try the practice question. View full size ↗

SMED studies changeover so suitable preparation can happen outside the machine-stopped period and necessary internal work can be simplified safely. It does not mean every setup must take one minute. Observe the actual change from last good output to first good output using a consistent definition. The saw case has no measured changeover dataset, so this page is an introductory teaching extension. Never reclassify a task as external if it needs isolation or another controlled state.

Follow the method

Observe actual change
Separate internal/external
Prepare safe external tasks
Simplify approved internal work
Verify first good output

Read the example carefully

Observe the actual controlled change using a consistent last-good-output to first-good-output boundary. The case supplies no measured changeover durations.

Internal tasks require the controlled stopped state. Only technically safe, approved preparation may move outside that interval; isolation requirements remain authoritative.

SMED aims for single-digit minutes, not a universal one-minute setup. Verify first good output and the full approved method before claiming improvement.

Try it before revealing the answer

Can all cleaning or adjustment be moved to while the machine runs to shorten downtime?

Reveal the answer and reasoning

No. Follow task-specific authorization and energy controls; only genuinely safe, approved external preparation can move.

Build on reliable methods

Sources and further reading

Lean Enterprise Institute — First In, First Out (FIFO) ↗
FIFO preserves arrival sequence through a finite lane. When the lane fills, the supplying process stops adding production until the consuming process releases capacity.
Lean Enterprise Institute — Single Minute Exchange of Die ↗
SMED aims for single-digit-minute changeovers. It distinguishes internal tasks requiring stopped equipment from external preparation and converts tasks only where technically and safely feasible.
OSHA: Control of Hazardous Energy ↗
Equipment servicing can expose hazardous energy. Task-specific training and applicable control procedures govern; generated workplace illustrations cannot authorize maintenance work.

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