Successful parts inventory management involves a lot of careful balance, especially when it comes to critical spares. On the one hand, keeping too many component parts around can be expensive, both in terms of money and space. Most operations can’t afford to keep a backup of every part they’ll ever need in the warehouse.
On the other hand, if you don’t have critical parts in stock, you’re much more likely to experience unplanned downtime or safety hazards. You can’t afford to stop production every time a key part wears out, especially considering the reality of today’s supply chain issues.
So, how can you decide which asset components to keep in stock? In this article, we’ll show you how to assess the criticality of spare parts. We’ll also talk about how criticality ties into a more proactive maintenance strategy.
What Are Critical Spares?
Critical spares are the components that your operation needs to stay up and running. Without these parts, your production line will break down, and you won’t be able to meet deadlines or deliver products.
Most of the time, critical spare parts refer to the components that are necessary for your key production equipment. But in many cases, your maintenance tools are also critical. Critical spare parts management includes responsible management of maintenance tools and parts, as well as any important components that are custom-made or that take a long time to ship.
Not sure whether a particular part is critical? Ask yourself: if that part fails, how quickly will you need to replace it? If the answer is “right away,” then it’s a critical part.
On the other hand, if you can manage just fine without it for a while, then it’s not critical.
You may also want to think about how often you use a particular asset. If you rely on some of your equipment every day, then it’s probably critical, even if it isn’t part of your production line.
Talk to your teams and get their views on which equipment is most important. That’s the first step to carrying out an asset criticality assessment.
Performing an Asset Criticality Assessment
Typically, team members will all have different ideas of which parts are most critical. If you haven’t already done an asset criticality assessment (ACA), you should run one as soon as possible. Talk to everyone involved and get detailed reporting on the assets that they identify as critical. Computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software is also a valuable tool in assessing asset criticality.
Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to perform an asset criticality analysis.
Once you’ve determined which assets are most important to your operation, it’s a matter of making sure that you keep the critical parts for those assets in stock.
What Are the Benefits of Critical Spares?
Keeping critical spares on hand means you’ll see a drastic reduction in unplanned downtime. You won’t be caught off-guard when a motor suddenly stops running or when a fan breaks down because you’ll have a backup part in your storeroom. As a result, you’ll keep your plant running for longer and avoid excess costs from unplanned downtime.
You’ll also probably pay lower shipping costs and may even pay less for each spare part. Planning ahead means you’ll avoid expensive rush shipping and be able to look around for the best prices available.
Of course, figuring out which spares are critical can also help you to make better use of your storage space. Once you determine which parts are critical, you can probably eliminate a lot of the non-essential parts from your warehouses. That means that your storage spaces will be leaner, better organized, and easier to navigate.
Best Practices for Critical Spare Parts Inventory Management
Adopting a few key practices can transform your critical spare parts management system. Here are some of the best strategies.
Set Effective Priorities
Assess how often your critical spare parts need to be replaced. Start by carrying out an asset criticality analysis or conduct a new one if it’s been a while since the last ACA. Studying your work order history will also give you more insights into each asset’s maintenance needs.
When ordering and stocking parts, prioritize the critical spares that frequently need replacement. Also focus on obtaining parts with long lead times so that you’re not caught off guard by unexpected shipping delays.
Utilize an Efficient Tracking System
Use a cloud-based tool to track the location of your critical spares, especially if your team has multiple warehouses or facilities. Look for a tool that can also track when parts were last ordered and when they need to be reordered. It’s a good idea to use QR codes or RFID tags that can be scanned and used to automatically update inventory.
Standardize inventory processes so that all of your inventory is tagged and scanned upon arrival in the warehouse. This will require some additional training and supervision at the outset, but it will pay off quickly. Systematic tagging and scanning means you’ll be able to easily locate every piece of inventory in your organization across all of your facilities.
Adopt a Proactive Maintenance Strategy
Proactive maintenance takes you out of reactive mode, giving you data-driven insights to improve maintenance and inventory planning.
Proactive maintenance approaches like preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance extend asset lifespan and reduce unplanned downtime. As a result, you won’t face sudden, unexpected breakdowns that leave you scrambling for spare parts.
Critical Spares and Proactive Maintenance
A proactive maintenance strategy can help ensure that you always have the critical spares you need in stock. Proactive maintenance means staying a few steps ahead of equipment failure by keeping tabs on your asset health. If you monitor your assets for early signs of defects, you’ll always know ahead of time when a part needs to be replaced or repaired.
This can be as simple as having your crews carry out route-based vibration monitoring on a regular basis. Changes in vibration patterns sometimes indicate new machine faults. The sooner you discover those faults, the sooner you can order the parts you need to fix them.
You could also build a vibration monitoring system using wireless vibration monitors and a CMMS. Vibration monitors collect vibration data on a continuous basis so that you never miss any key information. And you can configure your CMMS to automatically create a work order whenever the vibration levels exceed your parameters.
How to Prepare for Critical Parts Shortages
Supply chain snarls are a fact of life, and that’s not likely to change. Fortunately, careful planning can help cushion the impact of shortages and price hikes. Here’s how to protect your bottom line.
Improve Your Forecasting Capabilities
Stock up ahead of time on the critical parts you need so that sudden shortages don’t impact production as much as normal. Use historical data to predict when you’re likely to need more parts and order ahead of time. Work order history can tell you how often parts need to be replaced; inventory tracking can tell you how many parts you have remaining.
Analyze Lead Time
If you’re facing long lead times, perform an analysis to identify exactly where the bottlenecks are. Try asking the following questions:
- Is your team reordering parts on time, or is there a delay in the process?
- Are you unloading orders promptly and tracking the location of each new shipment?
- If there’s a delay in the shipping process, can you figure out which vendor is causing the slowdown?
Pinpointing the source of the problem can help you correct and solve it.
Dual-Source Your Suppliers
Don’t rely on just one supplier to provide your critical spares. Instead, diversify as much as possible. Using multiple suppliers means that if there’s a problem with one of your vendors, you can pivot to another supplier, saving you from potential headaches.
Increase Your Inventory Accuracy
If your inventory count is unknown or inaccurate, it’s difficult to avoid parts shortages. Build a reliable tracking system so that you always know what you have in stock, and what you need. Tools like a CMMS can help. This practice allows you to plan ahead and avoid expensive ordering tactics like expediting parts or facing expensive downtime while you wait for a parts shipment.
Solving Three Common Critical Spare Parts Challenges with a CMMS
A good CMMS can help you address the most common headaches associated with inventory management. Here’s how.
1. Supply Chain Issues
CMMS software delivers data-driven insights into asset health, so you have plenty of time to plan ahead for maintenance work. Accurate condition forecasting allows you to order parts well ahead of time, protecting you from last-minute supply chain hiccups. A good CMMS will even automatically prompt you to reorder parts when you run low.
2. Slow-Moving Parts
Slow-moving parts are components that have been sitting unused in your inventory for an extended period of time. They take up space that could be used for other, more critical spare parts. If they sit too long, slow-moving parts become obsolete.
A CMMS can analyze your past inventory orders, replacement rates, and time-in-inventory to help identify slow-moving parts. You can even use a CMMS to create a warning system, so that maintenance team members get an alert whenever there’s an excess of slow-moving parts.
3. Global Parts Sharing Across Sites
A CMMS acts as a central repository for all of your inventory data. That’s a game-changer when your organization manages multiple worksites.
A CMMS lets you see exactly where all of your parts are. If one of your worksites suddenly needs a replacement component, it may be easier (or cheaper) to ship those parts from one of your other facilities instead of paying for expedited shipping from a supplier.
Working With the ExpertsShifting to a proactive maintenance approach can do wonders for your whole operation. It makes inventory management much easier, especially when it comes to critical spares and determining asset criticality. Ultimately, proactive maintenance can increase uptime, boost productivity, and decrease unplanned downtime. But making this shift isn’t always easy. If you’re operating with a lean workforce, you may face special challenges.
The Fluke Reliability team of experts is available to help your operation with anything and everything related to proactive maintenance. We help you set up and maintain a vibration monitoring program through a one-time consultation or long-term monitoring assistance. Whatever level of support you need is available.
Contact our team to learn more about our expert proactive maintenance services and tools.
