Cost Reduction in Spare Parts

Introduction :


Spares can be define in simple work as a part identical to the part of machine, which needs replacement due to wear and tear during the operating life of the equipment.
Spare parts are the main tool of a maintenance manager without which he cannot discharge his duties.
It has been found that in an average Indian industry the spare part inventory value is between 10% to 15% of the total machinery value. The annual consumption of maintenance spare can be up to 70% of total maintenance budget , which in turn can be between 2 to 4 percent of sale revenue.
Then definition of the spare include material such as metal pipe and tubes , springs, wire and wire screen, rubber belts, hose pipes, electrical cables, sub-assemblies such as electrical relay, switch, fuses, motor, gearbox, compressor, engine, drive system, control panel, hardware such as bolts screws and many more.




Characteristics of spare Parts

1.       Spare parts are always in large variety. (Some large units have more than a lakh of item on their records. Even medium scale industries can have between 3000 to 5000 varieties.)
2.       The stock out cost is always greater than the cost of spare parts.
3.       It is difficult of forecast the requirement for the future.
4.       The requirement of spares increase with the machine getting older.
5.       The Process of controlling spares is complex and involve a number of consideration.
6.       The spare become obsolete more often than any other item in the plant.
7.       The Problem of correct identification of sparesis frequent, particularly if it is not tagged and segregated.
8.       There is always possibility of duplication in the storage due to non-uniformity or no coding.


Categories of Spare Parts

  1. By Importance of the plant- essential, vital, important, normal
  2. By Value – High, Medium, Low value item
  3. By availability – scares, easily available, difficult to get, seasonal, off seasonal.
  4. By Number required- large quantity, small quantity
  5. By Control – Government control, foreign purchase and local purchase
  6. By the frequency use- fast, slow and non-moving (FSN analysis)
     
There is one more way of categorizing the spares. This classification is by the pattern of their use in the plant

  •  Maintenance Spares
  • Insurance Spares Parts
  • Rotable spares Parts
  • Overhauling spares
  • Commission Spare parts