Maintenance Technology August 2016 - (Page 20)

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES While bar-code technology has been around for decades, only a few storerooms have fully implemented it to track and manage their MRO inventory. Put Efficiency In MRO Storerooms Wally Wilson, CMRP, CPIM Life Cycle Engineering Outdated designs, work processes, and technologies keep many of today's storeroom operations from adequately meeting the needs of the maintenance efforts they're expected to support. REGARDLESS OF ORGANIZATION SIZE, many storerooms are still operated as they were when the plants first began operating-which could have been decades ago. They still have light-duty metal shelving that wastes substantial vertical-storage space and heavy-duty pallet racking with extra-wide aisles to accommodate large components. For many sites, changes that make MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) storerooms more efficient are long overdue. Why a storeroom deserves TLC An MRO storeroom is a business within a business that's expected to have available items to maintain a site's operating equipment. While the maintenance department may be its primary customer, it serves many areas of an organization. Its main role is to manage the inventory investment and provide the needed parts and components for equipment repairs and support the overall objectives and goals of the business. The culture of the maintenance organization directly affects how a storeroom functions. If the expectation is to provide repair parts quickly for equipment breakdowns, the storeroom will be forced to operate with a large inventory investment-and in a very reactive mode. If maintenance personnel are conducting reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) and planning and scheduling their work, the storeroom operates in a more 20 | MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY efficient and proactive manner, and with less inventory. Note that how inventory is managed affects the outcome of equipment reliability. Take, for example, the fact that a harsh storeroom environment can damage parts. Dust, dirt, heat, cold, vibration, and static electricity can affect the quality and performance of some parts when put in service. Service life can also be affected by how items are physically handled and stored. Think about the impact of an electric motor that's dropped or had its shaft struck by a lift truck. Mishandling of parts can cause concealed damage that does more than adversely affect the life of the components themselves. It also can cause collateral damage to other equipment with which those items are installed. Here are some recommendations for bringing your storerooms up to date in terms of location, storage equipment, work processes, technology, layout, inventory-stocking decisions, and kitting approaches for planned work. Update location Changes that make their MRO storerooms more efficient are long overdue for many sites, starting with elimination of substantial space-wasting, light-weight vertical shelving. Past thinking was that the storeroom needed to be centrally located for easy access from anywhere on the site. This philosophy was driven by the role of the storeroom and the need of the employees to have access to everything from office supplies and consumables to repair parts for equipment maintenance. Current thinking is that the storeroom should be located on the perimeter of a site for increased security. Placing a storeroom there AUGUST 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology August 2016

Editorial
Uptime
On The Floor
Accepting The Challenge
Advanced Software In The Jungle
Put Efficiency in MRO Storerooms
Rethink Overall Vibration Monitoring
Reliable Pumping Supplement
Practical Oil Analysis: Why and What For?
SAP Tips and Tricks
Maximize Ethernet
Compressed Air Care
Nurture STEM Learning
Heed Drive-Belt Temps
Internet of Things
ISO 55000
Products
Showcase
Ad Index
Final Thought

Maintenance Technology August 2016