Stock and spare parts management are amongst the most significant thorns on the side of operations supervisors in production.

Frequently seen as a "required evil," spare parts stock management is a job that mainly flies under the radar when accomplished properly but develops significant headaches when it is not. For that reason, the significance of keeping spare parts in a sensible, effective, and practical way should not be overlooked-- despite the thankless nature of the job.

A sound spare parts management system can increase your center's efficiency, decrease unplanned downtime and, most notably, positively impact your bottom line. Use these tips to establish or update your parts management strategy-- and make those "thankless" jobs a bit simpler.

Spare Part Prioritization

You understand much better than anyone that not every spare part has the exact same level of criticality for your operations, so you're also the best judge of how to focus on possible spare part needs. Developing a concern list can really rapidly make your crane parts stock management jobs a lot more effective, as well as more efficient. Lots of elements can enter into this list beyond considering which devices is most critical to your operation.

Preparations, downtime ramifications, and other issues contribute as you exercise which spares are most crucial to keep on hand and in what quantities. Having a recommendation list makes purchasing and stocking decisions much easier, as it will end up being clear which crane parts you'll desire to stock in quantity and which can be equipped in lower numbers or purchased as needed (depending on your particular needs).

Produce a Comprehensive Lead Time Resource

Lead time for spare part satisfaction is one of the most significant factors for extended downtime when a maker or element fails. Even a couple of hours of downtime can damage your production schedule. A lead time recommendation can go together with your priority list and can contribute in how you assign that concern.

Access to a regional supplier who can reliably get you crane parts as needed, for example, can change your consideration of just how much inventory you require to keep on hand for those crane parts. In addition, longer lead times for more crucial parts mean you'll want to be more proactive about preparing need to those crane parts be required.

Utilize Data

Unplanned downtime and reactive upkeep are efficiency destroyers for your facility. Predictive maintenance practices can make things much easier for you to be proactive and make more educated choices about what inventory to keep on hand. In addition, data sensors and monitors can assist you comprehend which devices is most likely to need upkeep or crane parts in the near future, making buying decisions less of a thinking game and more of a data-backed methodology.

Factor in New Machinery Parts

Brand-new equipment is just as subject to the requirement for replacement parts as older devices is-- and new equipment downtime is likely to be much more destructive to your production schedule because you were likely planning to put that new machine to work immediately. Make certain to represent spares for new equipment as part of your crane parts management system. As you prioritize stock management and strategy your buying, be prepared to deal with the "growing discomforts" that can occur.

Implement Security Measures

Spare parts stock control and security need to be incorporated with your parts management strategy. Open, uncontrolled access to stock is a crucial motorist of missing parts, unreliable stock counts, and accessibility scarcities. An important component of a crane parts inventory control system is introducing a "parts counter"-- a single, regulated point of access to the inventory room.

By just permitting access to personnel working the crane parts counter, you can have much more control over stock that enters and exits the space, and will likely see precision metrics enhance as a result. Extra consider stock security are badges or keycards to control gain access to, in addition to electronic cameras to assist ensure that access to inventory is never compromised.

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 problems that extended downtime can provide, it's a lot easier to get motivated to execute this "necessary evil." In addition, a few hundred dollars worth of inventory can avoid thousands-- or more-- in lost or delayed revenue that can arise from unplanned downtime.

If you require to justify the resource expenditure for an extensive management plan to the company-- or yourself-- you most likely will not require to look much further than utilizing any current downtime occasion as an illustration. With these 6 pointers in mind, we hope inventory management will become a bit less of a problem for you and much more of a worth motorist.