MRO : Full Form, Management and Importance

What is MRO?

MRO comprises the basic tasks of maintenance, repairs, and operations that help in running the business. Most companies are required to maintain stocks of spare parts, supplies, and other materials that help them keep their businesses running. Components and tools are required by manufacturers on hand as they are used to take prompt action on repairing and maintaining machines and keep production lines unsalted. Basic items like light bulbs, cleaning materials, office supplies, etc. are normally required by businesses and these items of inventory altogether are known as Maintenance, Repairs, and Operations (MRO).

MRO inventory can account for a consequential portion of a company’s overall procurement spend, it is also important to apply efficient MRO Inventory Management Processes so that it would help the company to minimize costs while ensuring the company has the optimal inventory to meet its needs. These essential items contain routine maintenance and repair of production machinery, as well as everyday activities such as cleaning and obtaining office supplies which are necessary to run operations smoothly. MRO inventory indirectly affects the productivity of every department, so it’s vital to maintain an optimal level of MRO inventory to keep the business running while also not overstocking which could turn into additional costs for the company.

Full Form of MRO

MRO stands for Maintenance Repairs and Operations. MRO refers to all the equipment, tools, and activities associated with commencing the day-to-day operations of a business. However, MRO doesn’t include any materials, products, or services which is directly used in production, but rather it is the common thread that holds everything together.

Example of MRO

1. Maintenance and Repair Supplies for Production Machinery: Machine oil and other lubricants, light bulbs, valves, bearings, cutting fluid and spare parts, such as motors and gears these are those items which are somehow required to make the machinery efficient for normal use.

2. Safety Equipment: Protective gears like Masks, ear plugs, hard hats, respirators, sanitizers, face shield, etc.

3. Janitorial Supplies: Disinfecting and cleaning sprays, liquids and powders, mops, buckets, brooms, rags and dust cloths and disposable gloves, these items helps other department to increase there productivity.

4. Office Supplies: Personal computers, printers and toner, staplers, furniture, paper, pens and pencils, etc.

5. Laboratory Supplies for Testing or Research: Beakers, syringes, test tubes and scales. These items are important for a business who is active in research and testing wing.

Management of MRO

MRO Management is a process of developing and implementing strategies to oversee the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of assets and other equipments of a business. The aim of MRO Mangement is to keep assets and equipments in optimal condition to maximize their lifespan, productivity, and efficiency. Like any other types of management, MRO Management is crucial for the business, as it will affects business in long and short run. The MRO Management focuses on the performance of each of the business activities as efficiently and economically as possible so to ensure the growth of the business. However, MRO Management can be complex at time and might be time-consuming, as companies may need to buy and store hundreds or even thousands of different items for this process.

Major Components of MRO Management

The key components of MRO Management includes:

1. Identify MRO Items: Identify all the key components and supplies that the company needs to stock, as well as their specifications and the amount in which they are currently held. Storing the specifications of each item helps to determine whether it is exactly those items which are needed by the business. The main idea is to quickly identify which items are on hand in case of a production problem.

2. Planning and Organizing: MRO activities need to be carefully planned and scheduled to minimize disruptions to operations. This involves understanding how to organize MRO inventory to efficiently meet the needs of the organization. Companies often choose to store all items in a central warehouse, however in some cases it might be ideal to store items near the groups that will need them. It is important to implement a system for organizing items within each location so that workers can quickly locate them in case of urgent need.

3. Creation of Procurement Process: An effective procurement process helps the company to buy the right quantity of MRO products cost effectively, making sure they always has what they need. The process includes identifying right items, selecting suppliers, generating proper requisition requests and approvals and tracking orders.

4. Work Order Management and Monitoring: Work Order Management involves creating, assigning, tracking, and monitoring work orders for MRO tasks. Tracking asset condition is essential for identifying performance, efficiency, potential faults, and scheduling preventive maintenance to prevent breakdowns. MRO also focuses on indentifying high-quality parts and services at competitive rates by selecting reliable vendors, negotiating contracts, and managing vendor performance.

5. Establishing Controls: MRO Mangement Control is of extreme importance as it makes sure that business is not over spending on MRO items and proper deployment of MRO is taking place inside the business.This requires tracking MRO expenses, analyzing performance metrics, and identifying areas for improvement. Demand Forecasting and timely restocking helps in effective MRO mangement.

6. Performing Management Audit: This will help the business to determine whether all the required MRO items is on hand or whether there are any obsolete or unnecessary items that can be eliminated in future. Taking follow up with regular physical counts can help the managers to ensure accurate inventory storage and provides actual visibility of operational condition. It is a continuous process of improvement by identifying area of deviation, correcting them, adopting new technologies, and implementing best practices to enhance operational efficiency.

Importance of MRO

MRO is associated with maintenance, repair and overhaul of business’s assets and equipment that directly effects the performace and operation of a business. This makes MRO essential and of intense important for any business. However some of the basic importance of MRO has been highlighted below:

1. Safety Benefits: If MRO items which are safety related are serviced at regular intervals, it helps in maintaining safer work environment. Flaws and faults are uncovered through maintenance of assets and items before they can lead to workplace accidents. In this case, MRO keeps employees safe.

2. Improved Workflow: In longer run of business operations, machines and other equipment are prone to failure, break or malfunction spontaneously and lead to disruptions of workflow, which can affect productivity of the business. However, predictable wear and tear or minor flaws can often be identified and dealt with proper MRO and equipment management before they can lead to bigger problems. This reduces the downtime and ensures a smooth carrying of production process.

3. Financial Benefits: Prima facie Maintenance, repair, and operations may seem like additional costs and efforts, but the cost benefit ratio outweighs the time and money spent on MRO and MRO software. Not only does it helps to save time in the long run because downtime is reduced, but also helps to tackle down unexpected repair and the ensuing there prevention through regular maintenance. MRO management should focus on optimizing costs and maximizing the return on investment in maintenance activities. Moreover, MRO also helps to

4. Predictability: MRO can help make your production process much more predictable as it helps to anticipate scheduled repairs, maintenance appointments, and audits usually have a set date, and helps the companies to plan around and anticipate. It helps to modify the production process that is much less frequently interrupted by unexpected repairs. Planning will become easier and the process will be more efficient.

5. Optimum Utilization: MRO management aims to prevent unexpected equipment failures and breakdowns by proactively maintaining assets and repairing assets on time. This maximizes the productive use of equipment and increases the lifespan of the assets. Moreover, MRO also helps in reducing replacement costs and reduces capital expenditures of the business.

Conclusion

Maintenance, repair, and operations can be tedious and costly at first sight. However, utilizing MRO properly can end up saving company precious time and money. This can be done by automating many recurring processes, improving communication between department, and granting a helpful overview of all MRO inventory to help make the right decisions regarding procurement of MRO inventory. Without proper MRO inventory, manufacturers would not be able to operate. MRO improves the operational efficiency of the business and help business to maintain a competitive edge in the market. Prioritizing MRO, yields significant returns in terms of improved asset performance, reduced risks, and increased profitability.