Cost-Effective Condition-Based Maintenance Using Markov Decision Processes.pdf

Cost-EffectiveCondition-BasedMaintenanceUsingMarkovDecisionProcesses.pdf

SUMMARY&CONCLUSIONS
Investigationsconductedinseveralindustriesindicatethat
thereisnodirectrelationshipbetweenequipmentfailureand
equipmentageinthemajorityofcases.Mostfailuresare
causedbyeventsorconditionsthatoccurduringcomponent
operationandmanufacturingprocesses.Therefore,optimal
maintenancedecisionsshouldbebasedontheactual
deteriorationconditionsofthecomponents.Condition-Based
Maintenance(CBM)isamethodologythatstrivestoidentify
incipientfaultsbeforetheybecomecriticaltoenablemore
accurateplanningofpreventiveactions.Fortheultimate
successofCBMmethodology,wemusthavesoundmethods
formodelingdeterioration(thepropagationoffaulty
conditions),theconditionsandtheireffects,andtheoptimal
selectionandschedulingofinspectionsandpreventive
maintenanceactions(therightactionattherighttime).
Inthispaper,wepresentageneralizedCBMmodelthat
canbeappliedtoawiderangeofapplications.TheCBM
modelincludesastochasticdeteriorationprocess,asetof
maintenanceactionsandtheireffects,andascheduled
inspectionpolicythatidentifiestheconditionofdeterioration.
UsingMarkovDecisionProcesses(MDP),weprovidean
optimalcost-effectivemaintenancedecisionbasedonthe
conditionrevealedatthetimeofinspection.Inaddition,we
presentaprocedureforfindingoptimalinspectionschedules.