Cycle Counting Is More Than Just Counting
<P>文章来自APICS e-NEWS Vol. 5, No. 13</P><P>大多数基层人员做事是谈不上方法的：以前怎样做现在便怎样做，别人怎样做我便怎样做。</P>
<P>文章想要竭力说明的是：即使是企业中的一项普普通通的例行事务，也可以使用一些方法，尝试去分析根本原因，从根源上解决问题而不是被动地“灭火”。</P>
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<P>Does the following sound familiar?</P>
<P>Fred is the cycle counter at a busy manufacturing company. He cycle counts and corrects the on-hand balances everyday. It seems there are just not enough hours in the day for Fred because what he counts and corrects today needs to be counted and corrected next month. He asked the boss for another person to help with the cycle count. The boss thinks cycle counting is a waste of time and, with the pressure to reduce costs, he is thinking of eliminating this position and reassigning Fred to another position within the company.</P>
<P>Is Fred wasting his time? How could this situation be improved? </P>
<P>With a different view of cycle counting! More specifically, cycle counting is not about counting; it is about finding and correcting the process that caused the incorrect inventory balance. </P>
<P>If you are experiencing similar problems, here is a good way to go about finding solutions. Use the expertise of people within your company to select a control group of parts that are consistently inaccurate. The group should have approximately 35 problem parts. </P>
Week 1:Count the control group parts, correct the on-hand balance, and publish the accuracy percentage. The objective is to ensure all control group parts are accurate. This may take several counts during this first week.Week 2:Count the control group parts, correct the on-hand balance, and try to determine the activity that caused the error for as many control group parts as possible. Publish the accuracy percentage.Week 3:Repeat activity from week 2 and find the activity that caused inaccurate balances for all control group parts. Is there a trend? Are the same parts consistently inaccurate for all three weeks? Do the parts with incorrect balances share any similar characteristics such as unit or measure, supplier, value, stocking location, or point of use? Week 4:Repeat activity from week 3. There should be several trends that are contributing to the error. Once the types of errors are identified, talk with the people making mistakes in the spirit of problem solving instead of trying to place blame. Don’t be surprised when those responsible for completing the transactions correctly take ownership and correct the process as needed. If they discover and correct the source of the error, the improvement will be more sustainable than if they are told what to do.
<P>During this time:</P>
•consistently count parts and record the accuracy percentage, the progress, and the type of errors found•get people involved; let the people who do the work explain why the errors are occurring•set expectations; determine the goal, including how it will be measured and hold people accountable•stay positive and encourage change.
<P>Follow the process to count, correct, and conduct root cause analysis with action plans until the accuracy goal is recorded for a predetermined number of weeks. (Four weeks is a recommended minimum.)</P>
<P>When this is accomplished, select a second control group with twice as many items as the first. Repeat the same process that was used with the first control group. If needed, select a third control group. When all the processes are correct, conduct complete counts of all the parts and correct the on-hand balances. Now it is time to cycle count parts to audit the process, not correct the on-hand balances. Since the processes should be correct, counting is easier and less time consuming. The logic to count as many parts is diminished when inventory balances are consistently correct.</P>
<P>You decide. Was Fred wasting his time? </P>
<P>Debra Hansford, CPIM, CIRM, president, PreCrest LLC, may be reached via e-mail at debra@precrest.com.</P>
<P><B>Additional Resource</B>
For more information, attend Hansford’s presentation, "Improve Your Inventory Record Accuracy: Control Groups and Root Cause Analysis May Be the Tools You Need," at the APICS International Conference and Exposition, October 16-18, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana. To register, visit the Conference Registration page. </P>
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