Inspection and predictive maintenance strategies

This paper addresses the problem of generating optimal inspection strategies for randomly failing systems whose state is known only through inspection. Two inspection strategies are presented. The first one is a simple inspection strategy while the second is a predictive oriented one. Both strategies are assessed on the basis of the average total cost per time unit over an infinite span. For a given equipment lifetime distribution function, a numerical example is performed and recommendations concerning the choice between the two strategies are formulated.