The battery that went to the wrong job
On Monday a team loads the van for a job and takes the last hybrid inverter of that model, because it was on the shelf. On Wednesday the team for a different job, which was quoted and designed around that exact inverter, finds none left. The supplier can deliver on Friday. The install is moved, the scaffold stays up, and the homeowner is told the date has changed again.
Nobody made a mistake exactly. The warehouse just did not know which inverter belonged to which job.
Why stock gets used twice
- Stock is recorded as totals, not reserved for specific jobs.
- The design's equipment list is not turned into a pick list.
- Orders to wholesalers are placed from memory or a whiteboard.
- Substitutions are made on the day without updating the design or paperwork.
- Returned or unused items are not booked back in.
What stock mix-ups cost
Postponed installs, with all the rearranging that follows: scaffold, crew, homeowner. Emergency orders at worse prices. Substitutions that do not match the design, which then have to be reflected in the paperwork, the DNO submission and the job file. And cash tied up in items bought for jobs that were cancelled.
Equipment reserved job by job
- When a job is confirmed, its bill of materials is taken from the final design: panel model and quantity, inverter, battery, mounting system, isolators, cable.
- Items in stock are reserved against the job. Items not in stock are added to a purchase list for your wholesaler, grouped by supplier.
- The install schedule shows each job's stock status: fully reserved, awaiting delivery, or short.
- Shortages for jobs in the next week or two are flagged to the scheduler and purchaser with enough time to act.
- Teams pick from a job pick list and scan items to the job, which records serial numbers for the job file at the same time.
- Substitutions need a person to approve them, and prompt a check of the design and paperwork.
- Unused items are scanned back into stock when the van returns.
Stock status by upcoming job
| Job | Install | Panels | Inverter | Battery | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job A | Monday | Reserved | Reserved | Reserved | Ready |
| Job B | Wednesday | Reserved | Short | Not needed | Order today |
| Job C | Next week | Awaiting delivery | Reserved | Awaiting delivery | On order |
Install days that go ahead
Each job's equipment is set aside when it is booked. Shortages are seen days ahead, not on the morning. Orders are placed from a list. Serial numbers are captured as items are picked. And substitutions are deliberate and recorded, not a surprise found in the job file.
Serial numbers as a side benefit
Scanning items to a job at the pick stage does two jobs at once. It confirms the right equipment is going on the van, and it records the serial numbers of the panels, inverter and battery for that job. Those serial numbers are exactly what the job file needs for registration, and exactly what a warranty claim will ask for years later.
Without the scan, serial numbers are usually written down on the roof, photographed if someone remembers, or looked for later on a label that is now behind a battery on a garage wall. Capturing them in the warehouse is far easier.
Has this happened to your teams?
- Installs are moved because an item was used on another job.
- Wholesaler orders are placed from memory.
- Substitutions on the day are not reflected in the paperwork.
- You do not know what stock is committed to upcoming jobs.