Tracking of Rotables
From Imrtwiki
A number of members were using tagging systems that identified rotable equipment and distinguish its status within the rotable repair and storage process. Examples of tags from PWCS were tabled. The system for these particular tags was that rotables items that were not installed were tagged for either FOR REPAIR or SERVICEABLE.
Figure 1 Port Waratah Coal Services Rotable Tags
A number of attendee members used FOR REPAIR tags. These tags identify the key information related to the item, such as Work Order Number and Purchase Order Number and date, to reduce the chance the item might get lost or confused with another item. Another information field that is useful to have on a FOR REPAIR tag is why the item was removed, symptoms of the problem, known faults or similar to indicate to the repairing organization any special focus for the repair activity. With the PWCS tags this type of field is included in the SERVICEABLE TAG as it is also useful for the person managing the installation of a Rotable to know the history, especially if the Rotable has not been repaired (removed and assessed as serviceable). Newcrest included an R prefix on the item numbers if it was a repaired item rather than new.
Qenos used location codes on some specialized rotables such as Safety Valves where the item was setup for a specific application (pressure setting) and would have to be readjusted and tested if it had to be used for another location with the same physical valve. There may be a number of application where the same equipment items is setup differently for different locations and so it needs to be identified what the current setup of the item is.
Bluescope Steel is using a Bar Coded tagging system for their stores. This system is working successfully with Bar Coded Sticky Tags applied onto a galvanized plate that is cable tied onto the item when an item comes into the store. There are some minor problems with loss of tags but this is not a significant issue. The tags are generated new each repair cycle rather than retained on equipment in service.
Questions were asked about the use of Bar Coding and Radio Frequency devices to identify individual equipment items while in-service and during repair and storage. None of the attendee organisations were using Bar Coding or any of the more advanced systems to identify in-service items of equipment. Sydney Water had considered bar coding but the number of items required to be identified was thought too big and the worry of missing bar codes too difficult to manage. Other comments backed up the difficulty of maintaining bar codes on equipment in heavy industry environments. Newcrest Mining was using the Data Dot system for equipment security/theft control. It was suggested that the same system could be used for spares management but was suggested to start on high value rotable items first.
