6 Tips For Handling Your Spare Parts Stock
Inventory and spare parts management are among the biggest thorns on the side of operations supervisors in production.
Often seen as a “essential evil,” spare parts inventory management is a task that mainly flies under the radar when achieved correctly but creates significant headaches when it is not. Because of that, the value of maintaining spare parts in a reasonable, effective, and practical method shouldn’t be neglected– despite the thankless nature of the job.
A sound spare parts management system can increase the efficiency of your facility, lower unexpected downtime and, most significantly, positively effect your bottom line. Use these ideas to develop or upgrade your parts management strategy– and make those “thankless” tasks a bit easier.
Spare Part Prioritization
You know much better than anyone that not every spare part has the same level of urgency for your operations, so you’re also the best judge of how to prioritize prospective spare parts needs. Developing a concern list can very quickly make your crane parts inventory management jobs much more effective, along with more effective. Lots of elements can go into this list beyond considering which devices is most vital to your operation.
Preparations, downtime ramifications, and other issues contribute as you work out which spares are most critical to keep on hand and in what amounts. Also, having a reference list makes purchasing and equipping decisions much easier, as it will become clear which crane parts you’ll wish to stock in quantity and which can be equipped in lower numbers or ordered as required (depending upon your specific needs).
Produce a Comprehensive Lead Time Resource
Lead time for spare part fulfillment is among the biggest reasons for prolonged downtime when a machine or part stops working. Even a couple of hours of downtime can wreak havoc on your production schedule. A preparation recommendation can go hand in hand with your priority list and can contribute in how you appoint that priority.
Access to a local supplier who can reliably get you crane parts on demand, for instance, can change your factor to consider of just how much stock you require to keep on hand for those crane parts. In addition, longer preparation for more critical parts mean you’ll wish to be more proactive about preparing must those crane parts be required.
Take advantage of Data
Unexpected downtime and reactive upkeep are performance destroyers for your center. Predictive upkeep practices can make things easier for you to be proactive and make more informed choices about what stock to keep on hand. In addition, information sensing units and displays can assist you comprehend which devices is more likely to require upkeep or crane parts in the near future, making buying choices less of a thinking game and more of a data-backed approach.
Factor in New Machinery Parts
Brand-new equipment is just as based on the need for replacement parts as older devices is– and new equipment downtime is likely to be even more damaging to your production schedule since you were most likely planning to put that new maker to work immediately. Make sure to account for spares for new devices as part of your crane parts management system. As you focus on inventory management and strategy your buying, be prepared to resolve the “growing pains” that can take place.
Implement Security Measures
Spare parts inventory control and security should be incorporated with your parts management plan. Open, unrestrained access to inventory is an essential chauffeur of missing parts, unreliable inventory counts, and availability shortages. Therefore, an essential element of a crane parts stock control system is introducing a “parts counter”– a single, regulated point of access to the stock room.
By only enabling access to workers working the crane parts counter, you can have much more control over stock that goes into and exits the room, and will likely see accuracy metrics improve as a result. Extra factors in inventory security are badges or keycards to control access, in addition to electronic cameras to help ensure that access to inventory is never ever jeopardized.
Consider the Overall Value of Spare Parts Management
It’s worth duplicating crane parts management is frequently a thankless task– however when you consider the lost earnings and logistical nightmares that extended downtime can present, it’s a lot easier to get encouraged to implement this “essential evil.” In addition, a couple of hundred dollars worth of stock can prevent thousands of lost or postponed profits that can arise from unexpected downtime.
If you need to justify the resource expense for an extensive management strategy to the company– or yourself– you most likely won’t require to look much further than utilizing any recent downtime event as an illustration. With these 6 pointers in mind, we hope stock management will become a bit less of a concern for you and much more of a value driver.