SPARE PARTS MANAGEMENT

• Needs special treatment, somewhat different from the inventory management

of regular items.
• This is because the purpose of keeping a stock of these items is different.
• To serve as a replacement to the worn-out parts in the machinery.
CLASSIFICATION OF SPARES

• Maintenance or breakdown spares:

There are the spares which are required in large quantities at more or less
frequent periodic intervals as and when the breakdowns occur. These resemble,
somewhat, the regular inventory items in their consumption patterns. To some
extent, the analysis for stocking policies of the spares could be similar to that of
the regular items in inventory.
• Insurance spares:
The purpose of these spares is to provide an insurance against the relatively remotely
possible breakdown or failure of an equipment / component. The probability that such
a component / equipment will survive the life-time of the machinery or plant is quite
high. The reliability of such spares has been observed to be as high as 95 to 99% over
the life span of the machinery. These spares are sparingly needed. But they are needed
all the same because they may hold up production resulting in considerable losses for
want of them. Many of these spares are, also high value items. These spares are, by and
large, procured along with the capital equipment. At the time of the purchase of the
capital equipment itself a decision regarding the purchase of the insurance spare is also
made. Generally, the decision with regard to insurance spares may be to buy either no
spare or to buy a spare.
• Capital spares:
These are also high-reliability spares, but not as high as the insurance spares.
The reliability is not as low as that of the maintenance spares as well. Moreover,
these spares have relatively higher purchase cost than the breakdown spares.
The decision regarding these spares is usually made at the time of purchase of
the capital equipment itself. But the decision may be to buy anywhere from 0 to
say 6 or 7 spares.
• Rotable spares:
These are the reusable spare parts, which after their breakdown can be
reconditioned and re-used. Typical examples are the step any in the car, jet-
engine in aircraft, tyre tubes in cycles, electrical motors, etc. Since these have
more than one life, the cycle of their various lives needs to be taken into
consideration in the analysis of their inventory policy.
CODIFICATION

• Uniquely identifying each item in the inventory.

• Useful in requisitioning items.
• Receiving and expediting the items on receipt.
• Having good control over the loss, deterioration, obsolescence, non-movement
or pilferage of the items in the inventory.
• Without it, confusion might prevail in the operational department.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF CODIFICATION

• Codification by Group Classification

• Giving a unique number to a particular item in the inventory.
• For instance, 010237 might mean a specific item in inventory such as a particular kind of
gasket, of a certain material, of a certain shape, and of certain dimensions.
• For instance, the following numbers might be used to describe the first classification of
materials in an inventory
01 Raw Material
02 Purchased componenet
03 Spare parts
04 tools
05 Fixtures and Patterns
06 Other supplies
07 Work-in-process material
08 Finished goods
09 Capital Equipment
• The next classification group may be based on, say ‘shape’ of the items
1-----Wire 4------Bar
2-----Tubing 5------Sheet
3------Rod 6------Strip
• Further classification could be based on the material of construction
01---Mild steel 07---Brass
02---Stainless Steel-304 08---Bronze
03--- Stainless Steel-316 09---Aluminum
04--- Stainless Steel- 10---Special Alloy
05--- Stainless Steel- 11---PVC
06---Copper 12---Polypropylene
• Further classification could be in terms of the composition, use, characteristics,
etc.
01---Cold rolled 04---Annealed
02---Tempered 05---Hardened
03---Normalised etc.
• If the material is a wire, then the next group of classification could be in terms
of the ‘use’ characteristics.
01---5 amps
02---15 amps
03---25 amps
Thus, an item could be coded as: 08 1 06 03 01
• Mnemonic Coding method
• Includes numerals and also alphabets
• For example: SH 015 60 would mean
• ‘a shunt, 150 amps., 60 mV.
• Hybrid system of coding
• Using group classification and mnemonic codes
• PI I 1015 would mean
• ‘a pipe, Vinyl hosepipe, 10 mm.ID X 15 mm ED.’
BASIS FOR CODIFICATION

1. Who will be the users?

2. To what use is the codification going to be put?
3. What kind/degree of mechanization will be needed to use the codification
systems?
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD CODING SYSTEM

• Flexibility
• Precision
• Brevity
• Comprehensiveness
STANDARDISATION

• A good system of codification helps in standardization of items in the

inventory.
• It consists of reducing the variety of items stocked in the inventory to a
workable minimum, by fixing sizes, shapes, dimensions and other quality
characteristics of the item.