An integrated hierarchical production and maintenance‐planning model

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose and formulate an integrated hierarchical production, and maintenance‐planning model.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed model is formulated mathematically and tested for some hypothetical cases. A two‐level planning is proposed to address the hierarchical planning problem, i.e. aggregate planning and detailed planning. A preventive maintenance planning is integrated into the aggregate planning, while machine breakdowns, which require corrective maintenance actions, are investigated in the detailed planning. The proposed general preventive maintenance model is tested against cyclical preventive maintenance models for some cases, and for evaluating the performance of the models, in terms of costs, and service levels.

Findings

The proposed general preventive maintenance model gives a better solution in terms of cost than the cyclical maintenance model (i.e. 6 per cent less costly), if the maintenance planning is executed separately from the production planning. In terms of service level, however, both models perform equally well with average service levels equal to 97.6 per cent. The effect of tight capacity, long maintenance duration, and small machine parameters similarly tightens the capacity. In these cases, it is shown that a stable level of capacity is more beneficial to achieve a better service level, which is gained if the preventive maintenance actions are carried out monthly.

Practical implications

At the aggregate level, the proposed preventive maintenance model considers a non‐cyclical planning, which means that the preventive maintenance periods do not necessarily fall at equally distant times. The inventory movement constraints at the aggregate level decouple machines to operate independently; hence the detailed level problem can be solved separately for each machine. In a rolling horizon approach, only the first period of the aggregate plan is implemented and disaggregated into the production of items at the detailed level.

Originality/value

The paper proposes an integrated model of hierarchical production and maintenance planning. A general preventive maintenance is integrated into the aggregate planning, while machine breakdowns are investigated in the detailed planning. To the best of one's knowledge, such a hierarchical view of production planning and maintenance has not been addressed adequately.

Citation

Sitompul, C. and Aghezzaf, E. (2011), "An integrated hierarchical production and maintenance‐planning model", Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 299-314. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552511111157407