Critical Spares Review

Critical Spares Overview

How to conduct a critical spares review - the first step is to define what do we actually mean by critical spares.

Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) is one technique that can be used for the 10-20% most critical equipment. Less rigorous techniques can be used for less critical equipment. Very few companies have defined a spare part’s criticality and the desired Service Level (SL), this SL is used to support optimum inventories. Typical spare part criticality levels are Vital, Essential, Desirable and Non Critical and are based on Safety, Environment and Effect on Service, e.g. Production.

Our Critical Spares Approach

MCP has developed several models and techniques to support optimum inventories and to reduce inventory costs, including a 6-phase approach.

Our 6-phase inventory improvement programme, for existing facilities, is set out below:

  1. MRO Audit Various Types

  2. Develop Update/MRO Processes/Procedures and Guides

  3. Cleanse MRO Master Data

  4. Rationalise and Standardise MRO Spare Parts

  5. Optimise MRO Inventory

  6. Measure MRO Performance

What is Involved in a Critical Spares Review (CSR)?

An engineering warehouse may stock up to 20,000 line items, therefore prioritisation of the analysis effort is required.

We define the CSR as spare parts that are best suited to an analysis using stock-out costs, these will be spare parts with the following characteristics:

  • Low or very low demands, a Mean Time Between Issues (MTBI) of 3 years or more

  • Effects production significantly

  • Failure is not predictable

  • Significant values

  • Long lead times

Critical Spares Review Benefits

We support our clients to employ appropriate stores management techniques to optimise availability versus costs.

The benefits include:

  • Optimised target inventories (holding cost vs. ordering cost vs. service)

  • Safety stock requirements to meet specified service targets

  • Dynamic inventory targets reflecting varying demand patterns