Case study

The Parts Recycling Centre (PRC) launched in 2003 to improve the turnaround time of part repairs. Aligned with our partner's capital planning strategy, we continue to support obsolete assets and extend their life by up to 10 years. The solution is simple and effective, delivering significant carbon reduction and financial savings.

The benefits of in-house repair

We favour repair over new parts (when viable) to reduce waste and cost. The specialist nature of some parts means that only a limited number of suppliers support their repair and the turnaround can be up to 12 weeks. By delivering repair services in-house we offer our partners several benefits including:

• Priority turnaround and the use of repaired parts, rather than new.
• Reduced packaging waste created from new parts.
• Parts reused rather than disposed of, which reduces waste.
• Asset life extended.
• Reduction in parts cost and capital expenditure.

These benefits feed through to our partner’s customers by delivering a safer and comfortable environment, whilst supporting our partner’s value and sustainability goals.

Developing the PRC team

Since inception, the PRC has enhanced its repairs management to support the development of our partner’s assets and technology. In this time, many parts and assets have become obsolete or have been removed, with new ones being introduced. The increase of surface-mounted technology on printed circuit boards, for example, requires considerable skill to rework.

Initially, only 30% of parts were repaired in-house. Through the following improvements, this figure is now 90%+:

• Establishing supplier component accounts.
• Developing repair processes.
• Purchasing the correct tools and test equipment.
• Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and completion of training online.

The PRC is run by one technician and an assistant who manages inventory and logistics, as well as repairs and quality control.

Quantifying the value of the Parts Recycling Centre

In the last year, the PRC repaired 35 tons of parts, which would otherwise have been wasted. These parts support assets (80% of which are now obsolete) and elongates their life by up to 10 years.

Other benefits of the PRC include:

• Repairs are typically 37% less than the average market repair charge, and 72% less than the cost of new parts.
• Through quality control our part failure is less than 3%. This is compared to the repair market average of 50%.
• The turnaround time of parts repaired is less than three weeks, four-times faster than third parties.
• We stock 73 different parts with 310 repaired and ready to ship. This improves asset availability and fix time.

Expanding the service to deliver greater value

All new parts are assessed on whether it’s cost effective for them to be repaired in-house or by third parties. In 2022, we're reviewing new asset categories for their inclusion in the programme, which will enable the PRC to support an extra 550 assets, extending their life and supporting our collaborative sustainability strategy.