Deep reinforcement learning for optimal planning of assembly line maintenance

Discovering the optimal maintenance planning strategy can have a substantial impact on production efficiency, yet this aspect is often overlooked in favor of production planning. This is a missed opportunity as maintenance and production activities are deeply intertwined. Our study sheds light on the significance of maintenance planning, particularly in the dynamic setting of an assembly line. By maximizing the average production rate and incorporating flexible planning windows, buffer content, and machine production states, a unique problem is addressed in which a policy for planning maintenance on the final machine of a serial assembly line is developed. To achieve this, novel average-reward deep reinforcement learning techniques are employed and pitted against generic dispatching methods. Using a digital twin with real-world data, experiments demonstrate the immense potential of this new deep reinforcement learning technique, producing policies that outperform generic dispatching strategies and practitioner policies.