Page 323 - Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning

302 PART 3 Managing with the MRP System

Assuming that this routing is accurate, it still could be misleading. This routing
actually could be the planning for a product that really is requiring the following process:

223291 Hands
Step Description Work center Hours Occurrence factor
10 Cleaning Plating 8.0 25%
20 Polish Buffing 7.0 50%
30 Reassembly Assembly 1.0 100%
This routing more accurately shows the factors and times that are used to plan for
this product. Another level of complexity occurs when sometimes the parts can be used
as is, and they only need to follow this process a certain percentage of the time. This fac-
tor is known as the repair factor. The repair factor is sometimes referred to as the frequen-
cy of repair. This defines the percentage of time an average item must be repaired for
return to a serviceable condition.
The other option is to use the part as is or replace it with a new part. The example
in this chapter used the face of the clock as a demonstration. Planning to have these parts
available requires definition of the replacement factor. The replacement factor defines the
percentage of time an average item will require replacement. In a remanufacturing indus-
try, not only do the times and quantities need to be correct, but the occurrence, repair, and
replacement factors also must be maintained to provide accurate inputs for planning.
Even with all these factors and planning, sometimes unexpected things happen, and a
part needs to be replaced or repaired that wasn’t planned. This is called unplanned repair.
Unplanned repair is unknown until remanufacturing teardown and inspection.

REMANUFACTURING INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

Not surprisingly, inventory management in a remanufacturing company is quite similar
to that in any other manufacturing company. However, it does have its unique twists.
When receiving a carcass for repair or remanufacture, the part number on the product is
the same number as that on a good unit. Some systems will have status codes as an active
field in the database such that it becomes part of a unique identifier and is traceable
through the system. For example:
136604 Clock
A code: 145
F code: 53
G code: 97
This could represent a single part with three different usability statuses. The A-code
parts may be the parts that are available for customer orders. F-code parts could be those
which have been evaluated as repairable but are waiting for parts. G-code parts may be
carcasses that have not been examined yet. Each business will have different codes for