MANAGEMENT
Too often, parts stockrooms are viewed as
a necessary evil. But the fact is, parts inventory
and stockroom management play an essential
role within any vehicle maintenance and repair
organization.
With good management practices, the right
parts are available, at the right time and in the
right quantities, while using the least amount
of organizational resources.
If this doesn’t happen, asset maintenance
and repairs are delayed. Th at, in turn, increases
maintenance and operational costs, as well as
asset downtime.
Here are some recommendations to
improve your parts inventory and stockroom
management
44 Fleet Maintenance | October 2017
Some Basics
Stockrooms need to be well-organized and
responsive. If not, minor frustrations end up
costing a few extra minutes. Do your stockroom
personnel:
Know where everything is?
Keep track of quantities?
Protect parts from spoilage?
Give needed parts quickly to technicians?
Report facts to management?
A Step Further
Better parts inventory and stockroom organization
and documentation can improve operations.
Some strategies to help with operational
effi ciency include:
Create standard operating procedures that
are easy to follow and understand.
Maintain access to spare parts lists for all
critical equipment.
Maintain parts in good condition (proper air
conditioning, heat, humidity, etc.).
Protect parts from mechanical and electrical
damage.
Protect parts from pilferage.
Be sure agreed upon quantities of the agreed
upon SKUs are actually on the shelf.
Make sure computer records accurately
refl ect the actual stock on the shelf.
Establish a process for prompt requisitioning
and subsequent replenishment of parts that
hit the ROP (reorder point).
Staff the stockroom as needed.
Make part check-out quick and simple.
Have an easy and quick process for the
return of surplus parts, incorrect parts and
parts for rebuild.
Make stock parts easy to identify and look up.
Manage parts interchange.
Have standard bills of material for repetitive
corrective jobs.
Only issue parts against authorized work
order numbers.
Provide up-to-date costs by part and by work
order.
Deliver parts if necessary.
Develop partners for fi nding opportunities
for waste reduction.
Always look at slow moving parts for
obsolescence.
Continuously look for better products,
processes and procedures for supplies of parts.
Accuracy
Accurate records play an important function
in eff ective parts inventory and stockroom
management. Everyone agrees with the importance
of accurate records, but there is disagreement
on how to achieve the goal. Here’s my take
on how to do this:
Be sure everyone knows why maintaining
accurate records is important.
Encourage people to take responsibility for
their part in achieving this.
Be certain everyone knows who is accountable
for what.
Provide physical security.
Provide training in procedures for storeroom
personnel and customers.
Provide the tools to make doing the right
thing the easiest thing to do.
Establish goals and measures and report on
the progress “in public.”
Management must have the willpower to
accomplish all this.
Mistake Areas
Did you ever think of all the areas where
mistakes can happen to mess up your inventory
numbers? Here are some areas to be aware
of. If you are having these types of issues, take
appropriate measures to help prevent them
from occurring.
Parts removed without paperwork.
Missing shipping and receiving documents.
Wrong part sent in and missed in receiving.
Rebuildables handled diff erently each time.
Confusion in unit of measure.
Marking the wrong SKU (part number) on
an incoming part.
Errors in transcription.
Returns improperly accounted for.
One part blocking sight of another.
Pilferage and theft .
Toolbox and “rat hole” inventory.
Got The Right
Parts On Hand?
Parts availability is critical for reduced asset downtime
» Without good parts inventory and
stockroom management practices,
maintenance and repairs are delayed,
resulting in longer asset downtime, plus
increased maintenance and operational costs.
Photo courtesy of DK Communications
Helps decrease asset
downtime and costs.
By Joel Levitt
DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS, RELIABILITY LEADERSHIP
INSTITUTE, RELIABILITYWEB.COM
Reliabilityweb.com provides reliability and uptime maintenance
news and educational information to help make
asset managers, reliability leaders and maintenance
professionals safer and more successful. The Reliability
Leadership Institute is a community of practice to improve
how organizations deliver asset performance through the
use of Uptime Elements, a reliability framework.