Maintenance Stores - How Do We Optimize?

In the process industry, most manufacturing plants have a maintenance storeroom. In some plants this is a large centralized, highly planned and managed function. In smaller plants it can take the form of a smaller localized collection of "stuff" we think we may need in the near future. No matter the scale of your maintenance storeroom, there should be some basic and documented procedures developed jointly by maintenance, engineering, and purchasing to ensure consistency and quality of operations. Procedures like:

- Inventory classification, including provisions for obsolescence.
- Vendor managed inventory programs.
- Use and modification of the catalog system.
- Matching major spare parts with the plant critical equipment list.
- An effort to minimize the number of suppliers, and number of parts in inventory.
- An inventory record accuracy program.

Well planned maintenance stores can be a competitive advantage to process industry manufacturing plants. If stores is viewed as a "cost" or "bureaucracy" the advantages will not flow to the financial bottom line.

Synchronous LLC is committed to maintaining a continuing dialogue on operational excellence and best practices for the process manufacturing industry. To pose a question, contribute a best practice, or otherwise add to the dialogue, send a note to RobBaldwin@SynchronousLLC.com . To subscribe to our weekly newsletter send your preferred email contact address to Webmaster@SynchronousLLC.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.