OPTIMIZATION OF PRODUCTION, MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION DECISIONS UNDER RELIABILITY CONSTRAINTS

In this paper, a model is developed to integrate production planning, preventive maintenance, and process/product inspection decisions. Two or more multi-stage production lines working in parallel with different failure, processing, and defective rates are studied. As production system deteriorates with negative consequences on specifications and due dates, the model objective is to minimize imposed costs subject to limitations on production time availability, preventive maintenance cost limitations, and system reliability. This will enhance decision maker confidence in the system. Genetic algorithms are employed to optimize system variables subject to the limitations mentioned. Past studies on the subject are given in details and results show significant improvement in system reliability at minimum cost. Benchmark problems are used for validation of the proposed model.