Engineers Losing Time in the Store Room?

This could be a result of not having a stores management system in place, or perhaps, there is a system in place but it’s not efficiently managed or even used at all. If there’s no parts numbering in action, or if the area is untidy, it all adds up to lost time for your engineering and maintenance teams.

When you’ve seen your engineer walking from one end of the plant to the other to get a single bolt, it quickly becomes apparent that there’s a need for change. This not only wastes engineering time but also results in the engineers trying to get around the problem by burrowing all sorts of parts into tools chests and boxes.

It goes without saying that hoarding spare parts adds unnecessary costs to your business, creating multiple stock duplication, with no useful inventory recorded. This can, in effect, turn a key asset into a simple dumping ground.

And what do engineers do when a store is unusable? They just order yet even more parts.

Because of this haphazard method, documentation is also often poor, or in many cases non-existent, so when critical parts are urgently needed to prevent downtown, a panic order is placed for an item that is often already sitting in the factory – but no-one knows where its situated.

Urgency for critical parts is understandable, as downtime costs can be astronomical, but with better documentation, panic buys, and the wait for delivery, can be eradicated.

Addressing these issues is imperative, and it starts with a simple review of your current processes. Readjusting the way you work, with even the most simple of tweaks, can be the first steps to releasing more of your engineer’s time, and in essence, keep your factory performing at its optimum efficiency.

Call us on 0121 508 6000 to see how we can assist in changing your procedures for the good and sorting out your stores management concerns.