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 Order Processing: Refurbishment of Repairable Spares

Purpose

The refurbishment of repairable spares is important for companies, for which system availability is a critical factor (for example, the process industry, oil producing and processing, steel processing) and for which repairable spares guarantee a high level of system availability. The refurbishment of - usually high value - faulty repairable spares is of considerable economic importance for these companies and is often a core process in Plant Maintenance. It is often much more cost-effective than a brand new purchase.

In production plants or other technical objects, high value components are often used (pumps, motors and so on) which are replaced in case of damage by a functional repairable spare and then refurbished using a separate order.

In addition to the functions for Plant Maintenance, functions from inventory management and materials planning are also used for the refurbishment of repairable spares.

Note Note

No distinction is made between "good parts" (functional parts) and "bad parts" (non-functional parts) in materials planning.

End of the note.

Prerequisites

  • A material master record must be created in the system for the repairable spares.

  • Unique identification is only possible if the individual pieces of material have been serialized.

It is advisable to use the Customizing function in your system to define an internal order type, which you indicate for refurbishment. However, you can also use an existing order type for the refurbishment.

Process Flow

The following graphic provides an overview of the use of repairable spares:

The process flow can be broken down as follows:

  1. Procurement of new repairable spares

    For certain critical and high-value components used in a technical system, you procure new repairable spares to replace components promptly in the case of a breakdown.

    The procurement of new repairable spares is performed by Materials Management. The repairable spares are ordered and delivered to the repairable spares warehouse. A material master record is created in the system for the repairable spares. If desired, the repairable spares can be serialized as individual pieces of material for the goods issue in the planned storage location, assigned to a batch and valuated.

    For more information, see Inventory Management .

  2. Exchange of defective and functional repairable spares

    If a piece of material managed as a repairable spare is defective in a technical system, it must be replaced by a functional repairable spare. For this, the defective repairable spare is dismantled from the technical system and returned to the warehouse, whilst a functional repairable spare is withdrawn from the warehouse and installed in the technical system.

    For more information, see Inventory Management .

    Individual pieces of material can be registered with serial numbers when being taken to the warehouse from production, and from production to the warehouse.

    If the repairable spares are pieces of equipment installed and dismantled at functional locations, then you can plan and execute the installation and dismantling with a conventional order. The installation and dismantling data is also entered in the maintenance history.

    To dismantle, you can use the function Dismantling and Installation with Goods Movement . You can use this function to dismantle an installed equipment and to store it in the storage location at the same time.

  3. Creation of the refurbishment order

    As soon as the number of defective repairable spares in the warehouse has reached a certain level, the planner responsible creates a refurbishment order .

    In this order, the planner defines how many repairable spares that are managed in stock (if necessary, these can be identified uniquely by serial number) are to be refurbished for a particular material. These can also be pieces of equipment, which are identified by their material/serial number combination. The planner determines the time frame for the refurbishment and plans all the necessary operations, materials, utilities and so on.

    The order results in a status change for the repairable spares for a material. The initial status is “to be refurbished”, the target status “refurbished”.

  4. Releasing and executing the order

    After the planning activities have been completed, the refurbishment order is released. This means that the work in the order can be started.

    For more information, see Order Release .

  5. Withdrawal of repairable spares to be refurbished from the warehouse

    The employees responsible for the refurbishment withdraw the repairable spares to be refurbished from the warehouse, along with all the other materials scheduled in the order that you require for the refurbishment. The goods issue is entered.

    For more information, see Withdrawing Stock Material .

  6. Completion confirmation

    The employees responsible for the refurbishment enter completion confirmations for the refurbishment order. These completion confirmations provide an indication of how much work has been done.

    For more information, see Completion Confirmation .

    Note Note

    Notifications should not be maintained for the refurbishment order.

    End of the note.

  7. Return of refurbished repairable spares to the warehouse

    A goods receipt is posted for the refurbished repairable spares. This automatically updates the batch/valuation type in the serial number master record. The repairable spares are now in full working order again, relevant for materials planning, and can be used.

    For more information, see Posting a Goods Receipt for Refurbished Material .

    When the repairable spares are returned to the warehouse, the following changes occur in the refurbishment order:

    • The quantity delivered is displayed in the order header.

    • The order obtains the status Delivered or Partially delivered .

    • The order is credited with the value arising from the quantity delivered and the current price of the refurbished material.

      You can use the object list to identify individual repairable spares.

      For more information, see Inventory Management .

    Note Note

    For repairable spares that are not to be refurbished, you cancel the reservation and post them for scrapping.

    You can use the function Dismantling and Installation with Goods Movement for the installation. This function allows you to remove the equipment from a storage location and install it in a technical object in one step.

    End of the note.

  8. Order completion

    As soon as the refurbishment is finished, the order can be completed.

    For more information, see Completion of an Order .

  9. Order settlement

    Refurbishment orders can be settled to the material to be refurbished.

    For more information, see Settlement and Settlement Recipients .