Surviving the Spare Parts Crisis. Joel Levitt

employees (e.g., planner, maintenance worker) and ask them their opinions about parts and inventory.

      • Choose a couple of parts; then ask:

       Is the part starting to deteriorate or is the dust thick?

       STOREROOM MANAGEMENT QUESTIONAIRE

      The following questionnaire is adapted from the work of Don Nyman (in Maintenance Planning and Scheduling by Don Nyman and Joel Levitt) and expanded by Life Cycle Engineering. It is likely that you will not know the answers to all of these question; nevertheless, we suggest you try your best and learn more afterwards about the areas where you were unsure of the answer.

       Material Support and Control

      1. Purchasing, inventory, and stores procedures covering stock, spare parts, special purchases, and items manufactured in-house are well documented by written instructions that have been effectively distributed.

      _____True (1 point) ________False (0 points)

      2. The supply room is sufficiently stocked to meet day-to-day needs as determined by the following service levels:

Insurance spares (100%)	(1 point)
Standard replacement parts (95%)	(1 point)
Fasteners and fittings (90%)	(1 point)
Small tools (90%)	(1 point)
M&R supplies (85%)	(1 point)

      3. There is a perpetual inventory system in place with activity systematically recorded and reported to maintenance, purchasing, and accounting for use in the management of inventory.

Computerized	(2 points)
Manual	(1 point)
No system	(0 points)

      4. Inventory control practices are effective:

Cycle counting is used to preserve reliability of inventory records.	(1 point)
Control increases with inventory value using ABC categorization.	(1 point)
Free issue of low-value items, such as fasteners, is effectively integrated	(1 point)

      5. Procedures exist for reserving and kiting stock parts for planned jobs:

Reservation / Allocation	(1 point)
De-allocation	(1 point)
Kitting or pre-staging	(1 point)
Secured staging to avoid “borrowing” from one job for another	(1 point)
Critical spare part lists exist for all-important equipment.	(1 point)

       # of points__________________of 17

       The Physical Storeroom

      Where does storeroom management fit into the organization? Is this the best location for the parts for the good of the organization?

1. Adequate material handling resources are available to stores to and from work sites.	(1 point)
2. A two-bin system is utilized by Stores to facilitate issue while maintaining control on high-volume, low-cost items.	(1 point)
3. Storeroom layout and procedures maximize order fulfillment service and functional efficiency:

Parts are identified with stock (computer ID) numbers.	(2 points)
Stock storage is environmentally controlled as needed.	(1 point)
If needed, shafts of rotating equipment in stock is regularly rotated to avoid development of bearing flat spots. This activity is controlled by a PM-type revolving file.	(1 point)
ABC analysis has been applied to the arrangement of stock storage to optimize efficiency of stock retrieval.	(1 point)
Stock pick lists are arranged to facilitate picking.	(1 point)
Computer control will accept no more than two storage locations for any one item in any given storeroom. The impact of this policy is to keep inventory from becoming too spread out and impossible to control. (Note: MP2 allows more than two storage locations; therefore, award no points).	(1 point)
QA (quality assurance) inspection is required, in varying degrees, based on criticality, for all materials received for stock or special orders.	(1 point)
Barcoding (or RFID technology) is utilized to facilitate tracking of Purchase Orders, Stock Requisitions, parts, and progress through the receipt/inspection/stocking/issue process.	(1 point)

4. In central stores, parts are stored randomly to maximize storage density.

(1 point)

In satellite stores, parts are stored by equipment to facilitate retrieval.	(1 point)
Cannibalization from a serviceable unit (generally not installed) to another serviceable unit (generally installed) is against established policy. When necessary in an emergency situation, the necessary work orders, stores requisitions, and/or purchase orders are initiated to restore the cannibalized unit to a serviceable state.	(1 point)

5. An intelligent part numbering system is utilized.

(1 point)

       # of points__________of 15

       Computerization Assessment

1. A computerized inventory control system automatically reorders (or issues a requisition that is acted upon in a timely way) when on-hand quantity drops to or below the reorder point.	(1 point)
2. Maintenance has ready access to up-to-date material and stock information, including part numbers, stock numbers, bin locations, economic order quantities, and reorder points.
• Computerized	(2 points)
• Cataloged	(1 point)
• No ready access	(0 points)
3.