Enhancing the practices of spare part management in manufacturing industry

Abstract

Spare parts (SPs) are set of extra items that are used for emergency replacements of worn out and defective parts. Maintenance and provision of SPs are the two activities which need to be performed together. Maintenance policy is based on inspection where identified defective items need to be either repaired or replaced. Maintenance activities generate the demand for spare parts. Spare part management (SPM) is an essential concept to be applied in any type of industry, especially in manufacturing industry due to the heavy usage of various types of machineries. Hence, spare part management causes significant impact, positively and negatively on the operations of manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, the applicability of SPM for maintenance in Sri Lanka is comparatively limited and the awareness about SPM is considerably low. There is a dearth of research conducted to identify the impact and to draw the awareness of SPM in Sri Lankan context. Therefore, this study aims to enhance the practice of spare part management for maintenance purposes in manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka. A comprehensive literature analysis was conducted on currently available scientific knowledge through reliable sources in order to realize the current practices of spare part management in other countries and any frameworks used in such countries to enhance the practices. Five case studies covering 5 main types of manufacturing industries in Sri Lanka have been conducted to identify the current practice and impact of SPM. Specially SPM directly related with the maintenance activities and also have the ability to cause direct impact for the production. Priority given for managing SPM is in lover condition. The major reason to have a lacking consideration is the lack of awareness. It increases the cause of negative impact for the organisation. Main six steps to be followed under SPM and the factors to be considered under each step have explained within the study.