Description:
Often ignored and yet critical functions in assuring reliability, are purchasing and stores management. While Reliability begins in the design, it requires intensive support from these two areas, and few companies give sufficient attention to their role.

In this session we’ll be:

1. Discussing the concept of Total Cost of Ownership, with price being only a small fraction of that cost, and other costs, like energy, risk of production losses, maintenance costs, supplier support and spare parts, etc. being the dominant factors in evaluating those costs. We’ll also be discussing how to set up supplier alliances in helping minimize the total cost of ownership.
2. Discussing the management of the storeroom, and how to balance inventory levels (working capital) against stock outs and resulting loss of production and maintenance efficiency (hidden costs). In the ideal world most maintenance managers would like a spare plant in the storeroom to reduce the risk of downtime losses. Most storeroom managers would like nothing in the storeroom to eliminate the working capital (that’s just sitting, not working). The fundamental discussion will be around running your storeroom like a store, a business!
3. Involving Stores/Purchasing in component testing programs for selecting the most reliable components. (Pumps, Motors, Valves, Actuators, Starters, Disconnects, Solenoids, Switches, VFD’s…)
4. Works with manufactures/suppliers of reliable components to develop best price.
5. Involving Maintenance in eliminating items in the stock room that are no longer used (equipment has been eliminated)
6. Obsolescence – understanding that while inventory turns can be a good indicator for reducing inventory, nothing should be eliminated until we have verified the part is not obsolete.
7. The importance of including name plate information.

We hope you enjoy this episode!