ON DETERMINING THE OPTIMAL MAINTENANCE FREQUENCY FOR A FAMILY OF MACHINES

ABSTRACT

In this study, we propose a new solution approach for solving the Maintenance Scheduling Problem for a Family of Machines (MSPFM). Goyal and Kusy (1985) presented the only model that used a nonlinear function for the cost of operating a machine in the literature of the periodic maintenance scheduling problems. Before presenting our solution approach, we first review Goyal and Kusy's (1985) mathematical model for the MSPFM and their heuristic for determining the economic maintenance frequency of a family of machines. To solve the MSPFM, we conduct full analysis on the mathematical model for the MSPFM. By utilizing our theoretical results, we propose an efficient search algorithm that solves the optimal solution for the MSPFM within a very short run time. Based on our random experiments, we conclude that the proposed search algorithm out-performs Goyal and Kusy's (1985) heuristic.

Keywords:

• A family of machines
• maintenance
• scheduling
• search algorithm