This course equips maintenance, reliability and supply chain professionals with practical methods to optimise spare parts stock holdings based on risk, demand behaviour and business value – not rules of thumb or blanket stock reductions.
About this course
It is a value- and risk-based approach to managing maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) spare parts.
Poorly optimised MRO spare parts inventory ties up working capital, increases operational risk and undermines maintenance performance.
This three-day course equips maintenance, reliability and supply chain professionals with practical methods to optimise spare parts stockholdings based on risk, demand behaviour and business value – not rules of thumb or blanket stock reductions.
Outcomes
Specify and classify MRO spare parts and store items and determine appropriate stockholding strategies and parameters based on value, while using demand characteristics, risk and other factors as input.
Select and apply statistical demand forecasting methodologies and inventory control approaches appropriately to fast, intermittent, slow and non-moving MRO spare parts, while supporting new/greenfield projects.
Explain how material management systems relate to other systems, such as CMMSs, and what shortcomings may exist in supporting MRO spare parts optimisation.
Apply master data and cataloguing principles to support accurate identification, interoperability and optimisation of MRO spare parts.
Evaluate the applicability of several optimisation strategies to their respective sites.
Day 1: Foundations
- Introduction to spare parts and MRO challenges
- The role of spare parts within maintenance, reliability and asset management
- Fundamentals of spare parts administration
- Introduction and evaluation of models to set and optimise spare parts levels
- Governance, processes and performance measures
Day 2: Data, Demand and Systems
- Spare parts identification, specification and classification
- Systems architecture, and the linking of spare parts to assets and maintenance tasks
- Demand forecasting for fast, intermittent and slow-moving spare parts, using historical demand
- Demand forecasting for greenfield projects
- Improved understanding of demand through the analysis of its engineering components
Day 3: Value-based Optimisation
- Quantifying the value of stockouts and the cost of holding spare parts
- Introduction to the spare parts replenishment model
- Calculating optimum stockholding by using value and risk
- Unpacking lead time and its various permutations
- Different spare parts optimisation strategies, and evaluating each strategy’s relevance to your site
- Future trends in spare parts optimisation
Assessment
A final assessment includes a timed online test and a practical assignment to apply your learning in your own work context.
- Summative assessment quiz
- Practical assignment
Who should attend?
- Maintenance and engineering managers
- Reliability and asset management professionals
- Inventory, stores and supply chain managers
- Planners and procurement personnel involved in MRO decisions
Format and duration
- Duration: 3 days (08:00-16:00 daily)
- Delivery: Instructor-led (classroom or virtual)
- Approach: Practical, discussion-based and application-focused
