September 09, 2024

What Is An Organized Stockroom

Maintenance management success depends on several key factors. As a sub-category of this, you should ask what is an organized stockroom. Assets need maintenance. Technicians use parts and supplies for those jobs. What do we mean by an organized stockroom? What does it look like? How does a supervisor get and keep it organized? Let’s answer those questions this week.

Three questions on stockrooms

Regarding your inventory, let's look at three questions you should ask and answer.

1. What parts do you currently stock? You must do a complete inventory on your inventory. List everything in the stockroom with descriptions that distinguish one part from similar parts. You should create a record of the types of inventory or classification of parts.
2. What is the quantity for each? Three belts. Two generators. Sixty feet of wire.
• However, don't stop asking follow-up questions about quantities. For instance, when you purchase items, how many come in a package? How much comes in a bundle (i.e. a hundred feet of wire in a spool).
• Then, look at usage. Will you use two of the four widgets in the package for each job? This knowledge helps you determine how many to place on a purchase order.
• You should have a minimum threshold. This means when stock reaches that limit, you order more. Read on to see how a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) helps you with this.
3. Where is everything located? Assign a place for each item. This saves search time and helps to keep your stockroom organized. That way, you don't pile items in a corner or have similar parts in various spots on the floor or on the shelves. Common location designations include aisle>shelf>bin or cabinet>drawer. Use whatever location wording works for your facility so that everyone understands.

Assets, PMs, and Restocking

Use CMMS software for the above three tasks. It'll make the job of assigning those parts to assets and equipment and preventive maintenance easier. The CMMS allows you to set a minimum quantity before the system generates a purchase request. That way, you’ll maintain the proper inventory levels and reduce the incidents of stockout.

With a CMMS, you create your list of PMs and assign inventory to those jobs. For other repairs, you attach a bill of materials (BOMs).

With a CMMS, you create your list of PMs and assign inventory to those jobs. For other repairs, you can refer to the bill of materials (BOMs) to help identify which parts belong to the machine and may have been used before.

Again, you stay organized and enhance efficiency.

Issues/Returns

To keep an organized stockroom, you’ll want a system of issuing and accepting unused parts. The CMMS can help with this. With a procedure to distribute parts, you reduce the chances of inventory going missing. You have a better inventory tracking system.

With issue/returns, you have better oversight of what goes out and what comes back in the form of unused parts. If a technician returns parts, you want to make sure they go back on the shelf so only the correct parts that were used are checked out.

Physical Count

While a CMMS is a valuable tool to use for an organized stockroom, you need to conduct a regular physical count. This means taking the time to count every part. Have a regular cycle of physical counts. The number of times you send workers to count the items depends on your operations. Some companies may do this quarterly, bi-annually, or once per year.

A physical count does take time, so schedule accordingly. Take it in small chunks. An aisle or two at a time. This ensures better accuracy and keeps a worker from getting mentally exhausted.

Critical Spares and Repairable Parts

What is an organized stockroom? One where you note parts you can't operate without. You need certain parts available for emergencies and those incidents of unplanned downtime.

If you have parts you can swap out, repair, and reuse, check that in the inventory record in your CMMS. For instance, a hydraulic pump can be rebuilt to help save expenses.

Reports

An organized stockroom means more than storing parts and supplies in the correct location. It also involves maintaining accurate records of overall usage, quantities used for the job, and inventory costs.

Your CMMS offers plenty of reports on all aspects of inventory management. These will help a supervisor and management understand parts usage and purchases. Reports can show the parts that don't move often and excessive inventory turnover.

This helps asset management. For instance, if you see an asset uses a particular part more often than expected, investigate the issue. Figure out the cause. Implement an effective solution. This helps reduce inventory costs.

Conclusion

An organized stockroom takes the efforts of technicians and supervisors to maintain. You might even have a stockroom manager that uses the same CMMS maintenance personnel use. This keeps everyone "on the same page" when it comes to inventory.

Staying on top of inventory challenges reduces the clutter. It minimizes the "where is this part" questions. Productivity improves, and you'll see lower overall costs. For more details on the role of a stockroom, visit an article in Maintenance World.

Inventory management is better organized through a CMMS. The best system for numerous industries comes from Mapcon Technologies. Check out the U.S.-based programming and customer support. MAPCON has proven over the last forty years that its CMMS helps you be successful, in part, by having an organized stockroom. 800-922-4336

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