Storeroom Management Is Critical To Maintenance And Reliability

Storeroom management is the practice of ensuring that the maintenance storeroom has the right part, at the right time, and in the right quantity. The storeroom, and the intentional administration of spare parts in general, is the single most critical element of modern maintenance and reliability efforts. Companies that have not yet discovered that access to spare parts is inhibiting their ability to produce and thrive, soon will. 

Why Is Storeroom Management So Important?

The value of written processes for effective and efficient management of storerooms is self-evident. Unfortunately, far too many organizations have no processes written down, much less written down and followed. It is all too common to find processes in place that have devolved over time and are now simply “the way we’ve always done it.” 

Different people with differing ideas of what is needed to support an operational asset often lead to the practice of continuously adding spare parts to the storeroom for equipment that has been in the plant for ten years or more. Not having a clear process for determining how to put together a spare parts package inevitably leads to unnecessary parts collecting dust while production is shut down waiting for needed parts that were not on hand.

Companies in the U.S. spend $150 billion on spare parts every year. Lost time and expedited shipping costs when a critical part is not on hand add up fast. Keeping obsolete parts in your inventory hurts your bottom line as well. 

Maintenance Innovators, Inc. Offers Solutions

There are a number of systems and processes that must be coordinated for successful storeroom management. For a technician to be able to lay hands on the needed part at any time, inventory must be properly established and managed. Storeroom managers must perform issuing and receiving duties to ensure that the parts that are not ever going to be used are removed from the inventory and that viable parts are added when necessary.

Maintenance crews must properly document any items that are checked out of inventory for repair jobs. If this step is missed, the parts used will not be removed from the inventory system, and the re-ordering processes will not be triggered. The item will simply vanish from inventory and won’t be available the next time it is needed. 

If your company is struggling to meet your maintenance and reliability goals due to poor or non-existent storeroom management practices, Maintenance Innovators, Inc. is here to help. We have over thirty-six years of experience building and executing highly effective and efficient systems for a variety of industries across the U.S. and around the world. For more information, click here or call (913) 633-4009.