The Problem with Spares

Spare Parts ManagementSpares Management
Written By Charlotte Weller

Dave Thompson on client site.

Following research we conducted using our AMIS database of clients, we know that the effective management and optimisation of spare parts continues to very much be a key concern for many companies.

The work we conduct with regard to spares parts management has increased significantly over recent years and this has resulted in us adding to our team with additional consultants who have experience in spares and stores management in particular.

Spares Management - The Issues

We asked one of our consultants, Dave Thompson, if we could use the benefit of his experience to produce a series of blogs where we actually look at the main issues faced by Spares Managers and how these issues can be addressed. Of course, he happily agreed. Here we have the first of these blogs which tackles the issue of the time it takes to find the right part.

Spares Issues Part 1 | Locating Parts

Takes too long to find the right part

There are many causes of this issue, which we can divide into:

  • None or inadequate Bill of Materials (BOMs)

  • Poor cataloguing

BOMs

When BOMs are in place the maintainer has a direct link to the list of parts for that equipment. When these are not in place, then the maintainer has to search the complete spares database which is time consuming.

Cataloguing

The issues with cataloguing can be divided into:

  • Site part naming

  • Manufacturer’s part naming

Naming Issues

The main issues with naming are:

  • No standardised descriptions are used, such as Noun + Qualifier + Attributes. For example, for ball bearings there could be:

    • Bearing…

    • Ball Bearing…

    • Bearing, Ball…

  • Inconsistent use of spaces, dots, comas etc in the part descriptions

This results in multiple searches being required to identify all Ball Bearings (based on the part name).

The importance of correctly numbering parts

Correct part numbers are extremely important as part numbers are used to locate the correct part and to identify duplicates. The main issues in part numbering are:

  • Inconsistent use of alpha numeric characters

  • Vendor or Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) part numbers are entered instead of the Original Parts Manufacturers (OPM) part numbers

  • Different part number formats used by different vendors and manufacturers

  • Part numbers are modified on data entry by the cataloguer by adding suffixes/prefixes

  • No strategy for company’s art numbers that operate with dual part number systems

  • Typing errors such as ‘0’ instead of an ‘O’ and vice versa

The Result of These Issues

The above issues can result in:

  • Duplicate stock

  • Emergency purchases when the item can not be found

  • Loss of effectiveness

  • Higher downtimes

  • Excess stocking and spares costs

Identifying issues

Cataloguing issues can be identified by carrying out a spares audit, this may be done by an in-house team (following suitable training) or by an external specialist such as MCP.

How to fix the issues

Assuming poor naming and part numbers have been identified from the audit, the next step to rectify these issues will be to cleanse the dataset. Cleansing (Validation and Standardisation) may be done in-house or again by a specialist, such as us.

A specialist will have developed a database tool with inbuilt templates for all types of spares, and these templates provide data governance. A typical tool may have up to 2,000 noun/qualifier templates, the specialists tool may also incorporate a master part number database containing up to 1,000,000 spares for cross checking.

 

If you require support with your spares management processes, get in touch with us to instigate a free, no obligation conversation with one of our spares experts.

 

You might also be interested in reading…

optimising spare parts and inventory

In our white paper - Optimising Spare Parts and Inventory, we discuss some of the areas that can be addressed to help reduce stock levels and ensure that you only stock the right parts leading to reduced stock-holding savings in expenditure and reduced downtime of equipment.

The areas we cover in this white paper are:

  • Duplication of spare parts

  • Standardisation of spare parts

  • Rationalisation of spare parts

  • Bad practices

  • Strategies and priorities

We have included a number of case studies and also the offer to review of your parts data - free of charge!

Download our white paper now to start optimising your spare parts and inventory management systems.

Charlotte Weller
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Lengthy Spares Lead Times
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Poor Use of Spares Classes