Spare parts are inventory items that are difficult to manage because of their nature. The biggest challenge with spares is their availability secures the whole equipment life cycle.
Spare parts like other inventory items are kept to synchronise demand and supply. If it was possible to procure spare parts without loss of time, the need to keep them in stock would therefore disappear.
There is always a delay from need identification and spare parts delivery — technically known as lead time — in procurement that needs to be managed. Such delay is not uniform or constant thereby introducing uncertainty of supply.
On the other hand, demand is also uncertain. Material planners and maintenance engineers have frequent headaches in determining the optimum quantities of spares to keep.
It is very difficult to predict with certainty how much spare parts will be required and laying spares in stock serves as a cushion or shock absorber in the event of sharp rises in demand of spares.
If no spare parts are kept, uncertainty in demand and supply will put a plant to halt, increasing ultimate production costs without adding any value to an organisation. These spare parts come in three classes, insurance spares, unit replacement spares and consumables.
Insurance spare parts are not normally required for routine maintenance, but cause long shutdowns of vital equipment or the entire plant in case of non-availability. They are thus characterised by irregular consumption and not easily susceptible to closely foreseen events. They are of high reliability of performance and are also mostly in the high value category.
If we consider motor vehicle spares, a radiator, windscreen and fuel tank will fall in this category. A fleet manager would ensure that at least one of such items is kept in stock even if the likelihood of demand might be low.
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Unit replacement spares are assemblies and sub-assemblies that are replaced as complete units to release defective assemblies for repair in order to cut down on costly idle time of equipment.
Unit replacement items are also known as rotating spares which, in the event of a defect, the faulty part is removed and replaced with either a new or reconditioned spare part.
The defective part is then sent for reconditioning to replace the one mounted on the equipment. On a motor vehicle, spares such as alternators, starter motors and injector pumps will fall in this category.
The third class of spare parts is the consumable spares. These are the spare parts that require replacement due to wear and tear.
Their life cycle is inherently short, qualifying them to be consumable spares. Using same common example, a vehicle service kit, suspension spares and V-belts would fall in this category.
In order to be effective, spare parts management and consideration of the range of models of equipment that shall be operated are critical. Large range of different models of equipment implies that the level of stock holding for the spares has to increase as well.
This principle is critical across all industries, if the organisation has a range of models of different equipment, inevitably the spares investments increases.
It is therefore critical to reduce the variety of models of equipment to reduce the challenges posed by spare parts both operationally and financially.
Nyasha Chizu is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply writing in his personal capacity. Feedback: [email protected] parts are inventory items that are difficult to manage because of their nature. The biggest challenge with spares is their availability secures the whole equipment life cycle.
Spare parts like other inventory items are kept to synchronise demand and supply. If it was possible to procure spare parts without loss of time, the need to keep them in stock would therefore disappear.
There is always a delay from need identification and spare parts delivery — technically known as lead time — in procurement that needs to be managed. Such delay is not uniform or constant thereby introducing uncertainty of supply.
On the other hand, demand is also uncertain. Material planners and maintenance engineers have frequent headaches in determining the optimum quantities of spares to keep.
It is very difficult to predict with certainty how much spare parts will be required and laying spares in stock serves as a cushion or shock absorber in the event of sharp rises in demand of spares.
If no spare parts are kept, uncertainty in demand and supply will put a plant to halt, increasing ultimate production costs without adding any value to an organisation. These spare parts come in three classes, insurance spares, unit replacement spares and consumables.
Insurance spare parts are not normally required for routine maintenance, but cause long shutdowns of vital equipment or the entire plant in case of non-availability. They are thus characterised by irregular consumption and not easily susceptible to closely foreseen events. They are of high reliability of performance and are also mostly in the high value category.
If we consider motor vehicle spares, a radiator, windscreen and fuel tank will fall in this category. A fleet manager would ensure that at least one of such items is kept in stock even if the likelihood of demand might be low.
Unit replacement spares are assemblies and sub-assemblies that are replaced as complete units to release defective assemblies for repair in order to cut down on costly idle time of equipment.
Unit replacement items are also known as rotating spares which, in the event of a defect, the faulty part is removed and replaced with either a new or reconditioned spare part.
The defective part is then sent for reconditioning to replace the one mounted on the equipment. On a motor vehicle, spares such as alternators, starter motors and injector pumps will fall in this category.
The third class of spare parts is the consumable spares. These are the spare parts that require replacement due to wear and tear.
Their life cycle is inherently short, qualifying them to be consumable spares. Using same common example, a vehicle service kit, suspension spares and V-belts would fall in this category.
In order to be effective, spare parts management and consideration of the range of models of equipment that shall be operated are critical. Large range of different models of equipment implies that the level of stock holding for the spares has to increase as well.
This principle is critical across all industries, if the organisation has a range of models of different equipment, inevitably the spares investments increases.
It is therefore critical to reduce the variety of models of equipment to reduce the challenges posed by spare parts both operationally and financially.
Nyasha Chizu is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply writing in his personal capacity. Feedback: [email protected]
