Increasing spare part availability to achieve maximum system availability

In this master thesis, the spare parts ordering process of SABIC Geleen is reviewed. Firstly, a framework is designed to provide SABIC Geleen with knowledge of the different phases of the spare parts ordering process. Then maintenance data is combined with asset utilization data of 2012 to conclude which phases of the spare parts ordering process were most problematic in terms of lost economic value (i.e. costs of lost production, costs related to safety, health, and environment, and urgent ordering costs). Because most economic value was lost in the spare parts ordering policy and the repair or discard process, for these phases of the spare parts ordering process, redesigns are developed. The redesigns of the spare parts ordering policy particularly consider the sequence of decisions to be taken, the incorporation of the supply lead time in the ordering policy decisions, and the use of different replenishment policies for different types of spare parts. Regarding the repair or discard process, mainly the internal communication (between different departments) is improved regarding defective repairable spare parts, and it is proposed to update the prices and supply lead times of spare parts so that accurate numbers are available to base decisions upon.
The proposed redesigned solutions are applied on practical case studies of SABIC Geleen to explain the methodology of the redesign and to indicate the benefits of using the proposed solution compared with the current situation. The redesigns help to meet the target system availability at lower costs.
Finally, recommendations regarding the use of the redesigned solutions and further improvements of the spare parts ordering process at SABIC Geleen are provided.