Multi-Site Spare Part Monitoring Plan at RM Manufacturing Puerto Rico

Abstract

At RM Manufacturing, increase in downtime was observed due to spare parts unavailability. Spare parts monitoring strategy plays a key role in ensuring a manufacturing plant’s uptime. The objective of this project was to reduce the downtime due to spare parts unavailability. The areas of improvement identified were the standardization of information required for part creation, and re-ordering process approval flow. New information requirements were implemented in order to ensure key information is provided by the staff creating the new inventory item. Also, a risk-based process approval flow for each part was developed based on the risk they represent for the organization. The results attained were reducing order cycle time and overall department’s overtime expenses, hence, developing a tailored spare parts strategy yielded great improvements. Key Terms ⎯ Inventory Management, Lean Logistics, Waste Reduction, Process Improvement.