Stuart says: In the parts area, about 50% of maintenance costs originate from parts. I suggest a tour, management by wandering around (MBWA), not walking away. Tour your parts room receiving area daily, look around, remove the blinders and observe and feel what is going on. You may see parts being received without being counted, cores that are not returned, or warranty parts with dust on them. Perhaps you’ll discover old paperwork that did not flow as requested in the memo you sent. Or evidence of time wasted, such as a newspaper open to the sports page or even an undesirable publication that could be construed as offensive. Take a look!
Shop Floor
Take a tour and check abnormalities, such as dirty toolboxes, tons of company supplied drill bits, tools not put back, newspapers and magazines (which suggest too much free time), CDs from Godsmack and Lynard Skynard. Or maybe you’ll find air compressors not drained or due for service, a fire extinguisher out of date, ladders that are worn out or not in compliance, bulbs burnt out, and ceiling fans that look like a blade is going to go into orbit. In addition, there may be a clutch core with the facing burnt out, hydraulic oil all over the floor, three batteries from a truck that did not start that morning, or an incomplete PM worksheet on the floor from last week.
This all may sound foolish, but these conditions do exist.
Investigate shop procedures long before costs hit the exceptions reports. The information is right in front of your eyes and the eyes of your people.
E-mail comments or questions to Darry at [email protected]. For more information, visit www.darrystuart.com.
