Usually I use this forum to provide answers but this month
I have decided to pose some questions.
It’s up to you to determine the answers that will work best for you!
As we approach the end of 2011 (can you believe that another year has gone by!) many people will be thinking about their tasks and goals for 2012. Even if you haven’t yet started thinking about next year, and let’s face it, most of us are just trying to get this year’s stuff done before the holidays; you will need to start soon.
As we approach the end of 2011 (can you believe that another year has gone by!) many people will be thinking about their tasks and goals for 2012. Even if you haven’t yet started thinking about next year, and let’s face it, most of us are just trying to get this year’s stuff done before the holidays; you will need to start soon.
Here are three questions to help you focus on the actions that will
make a real difference in 2012:
1. What
one thing, if you fixed it right now, would make the biggest single difference
to your spare parts management outcomes in 2012? This will be specific to you, your company,
and your site. Don’t jump too quickly in
saying what you think this is. My guess
is that you could write a list! But what
I am asking is what ONE thing would make the biggest difference.
2. What
three specific actions can YOU take to change or turn around that one
thing? Think in terms of things that you
can do without further approval. For
example, in a recent workshop I challenged the group to identify actions that they
could take, without extra authority or support, to address their high level of
inventory stocking. They very quickly
identified 10 separate actions!
3. What
is it costing to not take action? Will
you continue to over-invest in inventory that you won’t use, carry the cost of
the stock that you already have that is in excess, experience stock outs and
expediting costs, experience extended downtime, do rework because things aren’t
done correctly, have inefficient stores or maintenance activities because of
parts issues? The costs are many and
varied and again will be specific to the ONE BIG THING that you need to fix.
Why not spend a half an hour, right now, thinking through these three
questions and get yourself a head start on 2012.
Keep on improving,
Phillip Slater
Keep on improving,
Phillip Slater
