Basic elements of effective Spare Parts Management System

This blog talks about important ingredients of effective spare parts management system to achieve higher efficiencies, reduce cost and earn more profits

Companies in India are normally unenthusiastic when it comes to maintain a proper spare parts industry because they always have apprehension that assets like spare parts are impediment when trying to effectively control operating costs. Management wants plant managers to find ways to reduce cost while maintaining the performance and efficiency of plant operations.

Effective Spare part management system is the basic requirements for reliable plant operation and it is highly crucial in today’s time. As a plant manager, one need to know how to determine which spare parts are needed to make up an effective and comprehensive inventory system. Instead of using perception to decide what is needed, the best way to establish a strategic method which will properly manage the movement and storage of the inventory.

Operational strategy, inventory control and lead times are few of the factors you should consider when developing or reviewing your spare part management system. Taking these factors into consideration it can help minimize performance disruption, promote efficiency, and reduce carrying cost. Finally, producing successful spare part management.

Operational approach

As a store manager, you will either work from a predictive perspective or reactive perspective. Most companies got into the trap of building their management strategy in a reactive mode. To successfully manage part inventory a manager should adopt much more refined strategy on predictive mode. While reactive strategy is beneficial during a crisis, the successful management is the ability to avoid problem before it erupts.

Predictive management of spare parts includes the collection and analysis of data, and the ability to look at the entire scope of operation to find and resolve underlying issues that may come up in the long run.

Predictive management is going help you to make better use of resources, cutting the time and cost associated with fixing issues.

Out of stock: Tackling issue

It is however not possible to eliminate the issue of stock-out (out of stock parts). However, if you try to identify the major cause(s) of this situation you can limit its implication on your operation. When you start recording the reasons for out of stock parts in real time, additionally, review demand and look for parts that might have incorrect order setting. Here it is worth noting that the most typical cause for out of stock is the delay that may exist within a supply chain.

Inventory Management

Your spare parts inventory does not have to be effective all the time. In fact, it is unrealistic to stock large quantities of various parts. To achieve better control over inventory, one need to develop clear criteria which will help define and categorize spare parts. Segregation based on priority of spare parts can help you manage your inventory.

One need to periodically review all spare parts classifications including critical and noncritical that might change over the period of time based on certain unforeseen circumstances and conditions. A regular review of spare parts for excess stock can help reduce the cost.

Properly sorting and storing spares in a designated, secure space is beneficial for the control of inventory. An alert for reorder will not take place if a part is taken without a record. Similarly, if new stock is placed on the shelf without a record, it cannot be accounted for. A review and analysis of storage and check-out system can reveal reasons for stock inaccuracies.

Lead Time

Having a clear understanding of spare part lead times is crucial to build a successful stock management. Part lead time is particularly important when determining which parts to stock. If downtime is not very critical for company, spare parts that can be acquired quickly and easily must be left out of a stock management.

Incase if loss of production time means a significant financial loss for operation, even a day or two without a part will be too long. Many parts with long lead times are made to order and do not carry expediting options. Therefore, it is best to keep parts with long lead times on hand.

New Equipment is No Exception

Many times we have heard operations and maintenance mangers saying that their equipment was just installed, it’s new, and we don’t need spares. While it may be logical but it can wrong sometime. There is an assumption that vendors will supply perfectly functioning, quality parts, however sometime part failure upon startup is a common occurrence.

Having proper spares on hand for the commissioning of new machinery is very important.