Better Spare Parts Support starts with better Spare Parts Record Identification

In too may organizations, Operations leaders, Maintenance & Reliability leaders know spare parts support is weak, wasteful and inefficient

In many of those same organization’s CFOs know MRO (Maintenance Repair & Operations) inventory has grown for years without improving spare parts availability

I have lived with good spare part support as a Chief Engineer in a Navy destroyer, and then as an ERP consultant I have seen low spare availability concurrent with high MRO inventory. That is poor spares support

I advocate that a significant root cause of poor spare parts support in asset intensive companies is poorly identified spare parts records. Weak naming conventions give inconsistent descriptions that make finding needed items impossible. To often the needed item is unfindable even when multiple versions of it sit with stock available on site. Not finding the needed record means more work, time and cost to get work done

A second major flaw in spare parts record identification is comparability. Master Date Governance has a responsibility to have a single record represent each unique MRO real-world item

SMIT (Structured Material Identity Taxonomy) addresses both root causes of poor spare parts support

I developed SMIT to make MRO material master descriptions integral elements of the record’s identity. That makes records easier to find for users, and expands governance comparison beyond the important but insufficient MPN (Manufacturers Part Number)

I recommend asset intensive companies implement SMIT in their new material master creation process. A simple but useful step forward whether you have a Master Data Management/ Governance system in use, use an upload program or manually enter new records. This step does not fix your bloated MRO catalogue full of hidden duplicates and indeterminate records, but it does provide the central concept needed for a rational spares catalogue. When stakeholders see SMITs value in new records, your own path to a rational MRO material catalogue will be clearer and obtainable

License SMIT as a low cost, low risk first step to address what is often a multi-million-dollar business case for eliminating waste in spares support

A spare parts identity taxonomy sits at the intersection Maintenance, Reliability, SCM, and Master Data Governance (that itself often sits within a support desk, data org or IT). The organizational no-man’s land that spare record identification standards sits in is a primary reason the problem still exists. I can help bring key stakeholders into alignment towards a better future of spare part support. That is part of my offering