Planning Process For Parts
Planning Process For Parts
In the business of mining, planning is essential to every step in the life of a mine — from mine development to ore
production, from equipment management to the reclamation that comes at the end of the mine’s life.
Successful equipment management, for example, relies heavily on planning to ensure machines are delivering the high
availability and productivity sites need to meet their production goals. Essential maintenance, repairs and rebuilds must
be performed in a timely manner — a goal that is impossible to achieve without a defined plan that ensures the parts,
components and resources necessary to perform the work are readily available.
Effective maintenance organizations understand the need for well-established processes, supported by appropriate resources,
and executed by skilled and well-trained personnel. Our decades of partnership and collaboration with these organizations
gives us a solid understanding of the processes and techniques that are effective, as well as those that must be identified in
order to correct or avoid them.
When we succeed, we reap the benefits. Machines last longer, perform better and deliver higher availability. We see overall
improvements in productivity and reductions in costs that lead to a better bottom line.
1. Preventive Maintenance
2. Condition Monitoring
3. Backlog Management
4. Planning & Scheduling
5. Parts Management
6. Component Management
7. Repair Management
8. Human Resources/Training
9. Performance Evaluation
10. Continuous Improvement
A proactive maintenance support system is one in which the condition and application of equipment is monitored constantly.
Maintenance events must be efficiently and effectively managed and executed, supporting the goal of “repair before failure.”
By identifying potential problems before failure, a mine site can avoid unscheduled downtime, productivity loss and potentially
more costly repairs.
Structuring a maintenance model that is open and flexible is imperative. Having the ability to incorporate valuable techniques
and new approaches will boost machine availability and deliver the high uptime mine sites need to meet their production
goals. The result is a safer, more productive operation at a lower owning and operating cost.
Caterpillar’s demand planning process combines sophisticated forecasting with our own and our dealers’ experience to
estimate the demand for various items at various points in the supply chain. The goal is to maximize asset availability by having
components and piece parts available at the right place at the right time.
The demand planning process incorporates a number of planning and parts ordering tools and takes into consideration the
detailed maintenance and repair recommendations developed for Cat mining machines. These tools help mines improve
machine uptime through parts availability.
There are two types of demand planning orders. One type is dedicated to parts that are earmarked for servicing a specific
component or tied to a machine serial number. These parts can also be used to support dealer Component Rebuild Center
(CRC) activities. Another type of order is for consumable parts (e.g., oil filters), which are used as stock orders for dealers.
These orders are filled based on priority.
Once it has been determined that a component is due to be exchanged, there are several options for replacement, including
dealer rebuild, remanufactured components, or new. Component availability and acquisition time are key factors to be
considered in the decision-making process. Cost is also a consideration and details such as component exchange quality and
downtime need to be included in addition to the initial cost of the component to the contract.
The final plan should consider and include the availability of labor, facilities, tooling, installation parts kits, and special
instructions associated with the exchange. Other jobs (backlogged repairs) that will take place during the “window of
opportunity” provided by the component replacement need to be considered as well.
The execution phase should include not only the task itself but also the commissioning of the “new” component and
protection, handling, and transportation of the used component for return. The final steps are to perform a quality check of the
work and to document the process via the work order for inclusion in the machine/component history files.
Today we have begun capturing data for all mining equipment, including underground machines. We’re working with Cat
dealers to help them develop the process for all machines in their territory. Progress continues to be made not only in the
percentage of machines covered in the initiative but also in the quality of the input being received. The target for the program
is to achieve a minimum outlook of 18 months.
»» Site name
»» Serial number
»» Critical component part number
»» Part description
»» Quantity needed
»» Validated date when needed
»» Repair strategy (New, Reman or Rebuild)
The program provides essential information to help Caterpillar and Cat dealers make the appropriate inventory decisions to
ensure we have the right parts available to support rebuilds or replacements. It helps us understand whether we are achieving
the target PCR life for the parts on the machine, or whether customers are prolonging the component service intervals. Our
product groups use the data to investigate opportunities to improve the lifecycle of parts and lower the customer’s overall cost
of ownership.
The initiative also benefits our dealers and customers by helping them better understand when parts and labor will be
required. Dealers can ensure they are properly planning for these requirements, while our customers can plan outages
accordingly.
Customers can order from more than a million items in our online parts books. With over 20 facilities and more than 1.5 million
square meters (16 million square feet) of storage space, there is no other logistics system in the world that can offer the same
support.
When it comes to planning ahead for parts and components, we recommend working with our global network of
approximately 170 Cat dealers, who support nearly 200 countries through over 2,100 branches. Most dealers maintain
extensive parts inventories and leverage sophisticated forecasting systems to make sure they have or can quickly obtain the
parts and components mines need to reduce downtime. They can locate and communicate a timeline for delivery in a matter
of minutes.
Thanks to the Cat Integrated Procurement (Cat IP) System, many Caterpillar customers are streamlining their operations and
reducing transaction costs by automating their procurement and invoicing processes and integrating with supplier systems.
Since 2001, Caterpillar has been an industry leader in the integrated procurement of parts by facilitating nearly 1,000
connections between customer business systems and their Cat dealers. Customers who procure parts and receive electronic
invoices through these connections often experience transaction cost savings of 50 percent or more, depending on their
current processes.
Users can select parts from several sources: Caterpillar’s online parts
manuals, Frequent Order lists created on parts.cat.com, or their own
business system’s list of Cat parts and prices. They receive parts prices and availability instantaneously, even after hours, to
facilitate emergency orders. And customers with stocks of Cat parts and an appropriate system can automatically generate
stock replenishment orders to the Cat dealer without manual intervention.
Parts.cat.com
Parts.cat.com makes it possible to shop anytime, day or night, for new Cat Parts, Cat Classic™ Parts, Cat Reman
(remanufactured parts), and surplus and used parts.
The site offers more than 1.4 million genuine Cat parts and is accessible anywhere, from any device. Parts can be shipped to
any location, including the closest dealer store.
The easy-to-navigate site allows customers to save frequently-ordered parts for future ordering. They can see parts availability
in real time, view parts images and manual information, and search for parts using the serial number of a specific piece of
equipment.
The site is continually improved and enhanced to better meet customer needs — from optimizing pages for use on mobile
devices to allowing users to share lists and order parts across multiple dealers.
»» Improved visibility to and a better understanding of parts and service needs for individual sites
»» The opportunity to be proactive consultants to their customers
»» Better coordination of planning across departments, including Parts, Service and Component Rebuild Centers
Continually improving
Caterpillar, too, leverages the benefits of demand planning to improve the way we serve both customers and our dealer
network. We gain a better understanding of our own equipment — the actual vs. planned lifecycle of machines, parts and
components, as well as the total cost of ownership. We can identify and close gaps and improve budgeting for our own parts
and labor needs, which translates into lower costs for our customers.
We’re committed to helping our customers and dealers develop the necessary processes and systems so demand plans can
be fully and reliably leveraged. We are leveraging the lessons we’ve learned and incorporating best practices from our dealers
and customers around the world who have robust demand planning processes already in place, and applying these lessons to
our dealers and customers in other geographic areas.
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trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission. Cat and Caterpillar are registered trademarks of Caterpillar Inc., 100 N.E. Adams,
Peoria IL 61629.