# Parts Room Organization



## rlc3854 (Dec 30, 2007)

I have a few questions before I answer anything. How many people have access to the parts/materials? Are you in a supervisory position, does the department run a preventive and pro-active maintenance work order program? Sorry a lot of questions. If there are other people that have access to your materials or your co-workers don't give a sh*t about their part/material rooms your setting yourself up for fights over domains. Your new blah blah brown noser blah blah. If the maintenance department is ran on a computer based preventive maintenance system you can maintian a budget, track cost/inventory/ordering ect. If the company is still flying on the old reactive program, then set up all your materials by machine and grouped by function. Like drives, relays, contactors, valves, motors ect. you get the picture. Find out what your high/lows are and keep an inventory so that once you it the low time to order up.

My past experience in this is if management and the rest of the team is not on board you will find your self an others hiding items all over the place.


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## CADPoint (Jul 5, 2007)

IMO if the parts are machine specific than put those materials together, or grouped. With misc. equipment I'd sort by size and associated type. Like fittings; coupling, connectors, end caps, screw on - grounding bushing.
Put various strapping materials together.

Add a daily sheet so anyone can request materials or note depleated stocks or even better what they are taking daily. The other key is to not let boxes go out on the job but only take what is needed per quanity per the installation.

The key is to have the available quantities or odd materials like nuts and bolts believe or not I've been on jobs where the simplist items confound management as to getting something on the job! Good Luck with the special orders that make installing easier!

Hope that help.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

Do you enjoy your new job ? Does it beat construction ?


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## BryanMD (Dec 31, 2007)

eutecticalloy said:


> So my question is how do you guys organize mechanical parts.


Do you have any sort of inventory list to work off of?
If so, then go by part number...

Beyond that isolate the general/universal from the specific application.



> By machine type or by type of parts. For instance all belts together or the belts for that machine in a bin box with other various parts for that machine?


It really doesn't (shouldn't) matter so long as it's labeled well and written down somewhere else too.


hth


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## 76nemo (Aug 13, 2008)

CADPoint said:


> IMO if the parts are machine specific than put those materials together, or grouped. With misc. equipment I'd sort by size and associated type. Like fittings; coupling, connectors, end caps, screw on - grounding bushing.
> Put various strapping materials together.
> 
> Add a daily sheet so anyone can request materials or note depleated stocks or even better what they are taking daily. The other key is to not let boxes go out on the job but only take what is needed per quanity per the installation.
> ...


 
Great point. First thing's first when it comes to stock inventory. ACCOUNTABILITY.....................


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## CADPoint (Jul 5, 2007)

There's got to be a better way for this, if they bid it, they accounted for it, they need it on the job depending on the phase of things.

Most large jobs can be a mess and a mass of materials. I've heard the stories of opening a job trailer and it wasn't staged and things not required or even unknown as to why this or that is here now. IE it's taken to the back of the trailer.

I really like "RLC's" over-all statement, this also reflects on the company and the disipline of the employee's involved.

Again, Good Luck!


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## rlc3854 (Dec 30, 2007)

CADPoint said:


> There's got to be a better way for this, if they bid it, they accounted for it, they need it on the job depending on the phase of things.
> 
> Most large jobs can be a mess and a mass of materials. I've heard the stories of opening a job trailer and it wasn't staged and things not required or even unknown as to why this or that is here now. IE it's taken to the back of the trailer.
> 
> ...


Last good size job I was on the project manager decided to help the project costs out by bring a sea-can full of material from his failed business. Did nothing but take up lay-down space and 3 days for 2 helpers to sort everything out. I think we used 2 connectors/3 couplings and a handful of pig tails. Nothing else of use in a 40 foot sea can. And if I didn't watch the helpers as you said above they were putting in the back of our good parts trailer!


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

When I was an apprentice my boss had me organize our shop, which is a pretty good size. Several thousand square feet of warehouse with 14' ceilings, about a third full of heavy duty shelving, and a large loft built on top.

I spent about a solid week out there. Now, a few years later, it looks like it did when I started cleaning it. I imagine if you took about 25 gang boxes and exploded them, it would look like our shop.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

erics37 said:


> When I was an apprentice my boss had me organize our shop, which is a pretty good size. Several thousand square feet of warehouse with 14' ceilings, about a third full of heavy duty shelving, and a large loft built on top.
> 
> I spent about a solid week out there. Now, a few years later, it looks like it did when I started cleaning it. I imagine if you took about 25 gang boxes and exploded them, it would look like our shop.


How many guys in your shop ?


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## JmanAllen (Aug 3, 2011)

erics37 said:


> When I was an apprentice my boss had me organize our shop, which is a pretty good size. Several thousand square feet of warehouse with 14' ceilings, about a third full of heavy duty shelving, and a large loft built on top.
> 
> I spent about a solid week out there. Now, a few years later, it looks like it did when I started cleaning it. I imagine if you took about 25 gang boxes and exploded them, it would look like our shop.


When I first started the boss had me cleaning and sorting the shop. I used to know right where everything was and a good idea how much we had I quit as a 2yr helper now I'm back as a JW and its back to the way it used to be The week I was off from the gun shot wound he had my helper sort it some but it needs a lot of work

Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


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## eutecticalloy (Dec 12, 2010)

rlc3854 said:


> I have a few questions before I answer anything. How many people have access to the parts/materials? Are you in a supervisory position, does the department run a preventive and pro-active maintenance work order program? Sorry a lot of questions. If there are other people that have access to your materials or your co-workers don't give a sh*t about their part/material rooms your setting yourself up for fights over domains. Your new blah blah brown noser blah blah. If the maintenance department is ran on a computer based preventive maintenance system you can maintian a budget, track cost/inventory/ordering ect. If the company is still flying on the old reactive program, then set up all your materials by machine and grouped by function. Like drives, relays, contactors, valves, motors ect. you get the picture. Find out what your high/lows are and keep an inventory so that once you it the low time to order up.
> 
> My past experience in this is if management and the rest of the team is not on board you will find your self an others hiding items all over the place.


Well, we have a small maintenance dept. I am one of two electricians and there are three mechanics and a lead mechanic.

Everyone seems to like me. We all get along. The problem with the facility is that the previous maintenance manager was a hack and let the PMs get way behind, advised mechanics and electricians to jump out safety equipment and just over all neglected the facility. 

My current manager has more of an administrative maintenance managerial background and is used to all those types of systems already being in place. The whole dept has discussed the reorganization of the parts but it wasn't getting done. So I wrote up a proposal and had it approved by everyone in the dept.

Currently our PM system is based of the AMMS software system and implemented. IT IS capable of inventory management, work orders and labor management it's just a slow process. Right at the moment I am just getting things organized especially in the next few weeks while production is down. Later I will inventory everything and hopefully be taught the AMMS system.


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## eutecticalloy (Dec 12, 2010)

dronai said:


> Do you enjoy your new job ? Does it beat construction ?


YEAH!!!! When I went to school the whole second year of my associates degree was transformers/motors, motor controls, VFDs, instrumentation, etc. All geared toward industrial maintenance. I really enjoy it. I get to troubleshoot alot, Repair Machines and Occasionally build a control panel or update a schematic. I think this is the career for me.

Construction although having its perks, was quite boring to me. Especially Solar. The same thing basically all the time. The occasional battery back up, but at my new job I can problem solve alot more.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

eutecticalloy said:


> YEAH!!!! When I went to school the whole second year of my associates degree was transformers/motors, motor controls, VFDs, instrumentation, etc. All geared toward industrial maintenance. I really enjoy it. I get to troubleshoot alot, Repair Machines and Occasionally build a control panel or update a schematic. I think this is the career for me.
> 
> Construction although having its perks, was quite boring to me. Especially Solar. The same thing basically all the time. The occasional battery back up, but at my new job I can problem solve alot more.


Great !! Sounds like you scored.

I start my first real industrial job on wed. Pretty heavy duty conveyor system. Only thing is I got the second shift from 2:00pm - 10:30 Pm tues- Sat. But all the stuff you described above.


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## eutecticalloy (Dec 12, 2010)

CADPoint said:


> There's got to be a better way for this, if they bid it, they accounted for it, they need it on the job depending on the phase of things.
> 
> Most large jobs can be a mess and a mass of materials. I've heard the stories of opening a job trailer and it wasn't staged and things not required or even unknown as to why this or that is here now. IE it's taken to the back of the trailer.
> 
> ...


Eventually, with the AMMS system we should be able to keep a steady inventory but for now, order numbers become work orders issued to the same one who orders the part. I really like the day to go fast so I find all broken or missing electrical components and either replace them if we have them or order it. I also try to do really thorough PMs. 

Speaking of which in other facilities on one piece of equipment are there usually separate PMs for electrical and mechanical?


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## eutecticalloy (Dec 12, 2010)

dronai said:


> Great !! Sounds like you scored.
> 
> I start my first real industrial job on wed. Pretty heavy duty conveyor system. Only thing is I got the second shift from 2:00pm - 10:30 Pm tues- Sat. But all the stuff you described above.


I started off 5am-1:30pm but that was to stick me with the senior electrician to glean from his knowledge for four or so weeks. Lately I've been working 3pm-11:30pm or till productions stops. 

I thought I would of hated it but I actually like my new schedule. I get enough sleep, wake up and make my kids breakfast. My wife doesn't like it though. Putting the kids to bed is a pain (18 mo old and 2 mo old)


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I have two groups of mechanical "stuff" parts and hardware for machines we built and maintain spares for and then general stock we use on new projects and prototypes. It's the same for electrical, pneumatics... whatever.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

we have a parts room in this shopping mall reno we're doing

as i'm the lead sparky doing the ordering, i spent a whole day orginizing what we did have, so it would not be orderd again

now if i can only get the guys to put the unsued parts back where they belong.....

~CS~


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## acro (May 3, 2011)

One thing I keep in mind when choosing inventory locations. If the parts are physically very similar and do not have an actual part # on them, separate them even if they are for the same machine.


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

eutecticalloy said:


> Eventually, with the AMMS system we should be able to keep a steady inventory but for now, order numbers become work orders issued to the same one who orders the part. I really like the day to go fast so I find all broken or missing electrical components and either replace them if we have them or order it. I also try to do really thorough PMs.
> 
> Speaking of which in other facilities on one piece of equipment are there usually separate PMs for electrical and mechanical?


 
Most case they will have separate PM's but few case they will tie together if need a major shutdown for some reason then will deal both.

And any major breakdown will automatique call both Electrician and Mechanic crews and may change the PM's shedule a bit.

And make sure everyone is up to the speed with LO/TO's system.

Merci,
Marc


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