So far, the “Bad Specs” column has talked about specifications that are old, outdated, and—in many case —obsolete. But what about specifications where the item in question has been renamed?

From time to time, we’re contacted by a customer asking about a specific part number that their customer has requested. A cursory look at an online catalog or review of existing inventory quickly reveals that if the product exists, no one carries it. How does this happen, and how can we work through this occasional bump in the road?

Many of NIA’s members sell to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that buy a product from an insulation manufacturer for use in their product before it’s sold to the end customer. This might be a fiber glass blanket covering a dishwasher for sound control, elastomeric pipe insulation for a chilled unit, or cellular glass in a modular piping system for underground burial. In some cases, the decision is made by the OEM to assign an internal item number to an existing product to simplify things within their internal supply chain and inventory system. Although this approach has its benefits for internal OEM use, it can create confusion when the material or item is sourced externally.

For example, say we get a call from a customer for an ACME product with the hypothetical part number HF-P1200-123456-25. The purchasing agent for the OEM company doesn’t know what these items are or what they’re used for, so they call someone in the insulation business to help them out. As the request for pricing and availability goes through customer service, supply chain, manufacturing, and technical support at the supplier and the material manufacturer, it becomes readily apparent that nobody has heard of this particular part number. At times it feels like we’re getting pranked, especially when the question gets to “legacy employees,” who have never heard of the ACME company or the random part number.

As everyone in the chain gets the question and asks for more information, the common response is that a description of the material or item is needed, not a part number, to fill the requirement. After hearing the news that nobody knows what the purchasing agent is inquiring about, they do what most purchasing agents dread: talk to an engineer at ACME, getting answers intermixed with jargon and what sounds like made-up concepts and words. As an example, the engineer might tell them that they need something complying with ASTM C553 Type I-VI fiber glass blanket at a 1.0-inch thickness, with a 2.5 lb./ft3 density. The engineer might also suggest product widths or lengths that work with their manufacturing process. In some cases, the engineer might even know the product name—or at least what the box that the last batch of product that came in looked like. If the engineer is having a particularly bad day, they’ll tell the caller what products not to buy, and give them an earful about how inconvenient it is to have to explain this to the rest of the world… and, by the way, why do they have different part numbers from the rest of the world? The purchasing agent will agree, and go on about their day, happy to be done with that interaction.

Armed with this new information, the inquiry cycle is repeated. Based on information used outside the OEM company, it becomes a simple matter to contact either a customer service or technical support representative who will probably have a product that meets the ASTM requirements for the customer. When this happens, the purchasing agent can do what they were trained to do: evaluate product options for price, availability, and other terms that make the life of a purchasing agent exciting.

At the end of the day, dealing with renamed or reclassified products is just one of those quirks that comes with working in this industry. Sure, it can be a little frustrating when a part number leads to a dead end, or when an engineer starts rattling off technical jargon like it’s a second language, but it’s all part of the process. The good news is, once everyone starts talking the same language (or at least close to it), things usually fall into place. A little back-and-forth, a few clarifying questions, and suddenly that mystery part number turns into a real product with a real solution. It’s a great reminder that behind every request is a team of people trying to get the job done; and when we work together, even the most confusing spec can be sorted out. So, the next time a strange part number lands in your inbox, take a breath, ask the right questions, and trust that the answer is out there—probably just hiding behind a different name.