Significant Versus Non-significant Part Numbers
In general, there are two types of part numbering systems: significant (a.k.a. "intelligent") and non-significant (a.k.a. "non-intelligent").
- In a significant part numbering system, the part numbers are assigned intelligently, according to an encoding system, and thus they give an indication of salient characteristics of the component. For example, a screw may have the part number "HSC0424PP"; in this case, the letters indicate characteristics of the component:
- H = "Hardware"
- S = "Machine Screw"
- C0424 = "4-40, 3/4" long"
- PP = "Panhead Phillips"
- In a non-significant part numbering system, part numbers are assigned in some other fashion, such as sequentially or arbitrarily. For example, a screw may have the part number "1002", which may not tell the user anything about its thread size, length of shank, or drive type.
Significant part numbering systems are easier to use if you are trying to identify an item though the use of its code inside your company rather than a long description; however, many variations can start to appear when the code is used by other companies, which may be your distributors, and then people can become confused. Non-significant part numbers are easier to assign and manage. You can still create a structure where you can have a category and then a sequential number e.g. 231-1002 (2=Hardware 3=Screw 1=Phillips then the unique number 1002) This is also more efficient for data entry where using numbers and dashes are part of a normal keypad which means you don't have to use both hands on a keyboard. One other bonus is that people usually understand numbers easier, and when you store products in a warehouse, you can put items in numerical order (for example, lower numbers at one end of an aisle, and as you continue, the numbers increase).
Read more about this topic: Part Number
Famous quotes containing the words significant, part and/or numbers:
“We in the South were ready for reconciliation, to be accepted as equals, to rejoin the mainstream of American political life. This yearning for what might be called political redemption was a significant factor in my successful campaign.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“However global I strove to become in my thinking over the past twenty years, my sons kept me rooted to an utterly pedestrian view, intimately involved with the most inspiring and fractious passages in human development. However unconsciously by now, motherhood informs every thought I have, influencing everything I do. More than any other part of my life, being a mother taught me what it means to be human.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“I had but three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship; three for society. When visitors came in larger and unexpected numbers there was but the third chair for them all, but they generally economized the room by standing up.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)