Condition Based Maintenance: Planning and Implementation

ABSTRACT: The objective of this proposal is to develop new techniques for addressing dynamic scheduling needs of a production environment in the MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) industry where unknown repair issues force continuous schedule modifications. The existing techniques involve detailed work cards set by planning with both skill set and work hours. Changes to these variables require time consuming updates that hinder management's capability to impact change and direct the workforce. This research will focus on several key areas. First, identify the key elements required to dictate delivery dates. Second, determine the key what-if capability needs so changes in requirements can predict both manpower and skill set needs. Third, catalog financial impacts in terms of overtime and potentially other key elements such as expediting costs to determine financial impact of schedule changes. This research will utilize human based processing theory, sequencing and scheduling strategies, optimization techniques to enable the OC-ALC to reduce its production lead-times and minimize both schedule impacts and overtime costs of unidentified schedule changes. BENEFIT: The ultimate goal of the research is to provide a scheduling tool that will enable simulation like capabilities in a real-time production environment so unidentified work requirement impacts can be understood both in terms of delivery impacts and workforce costs including an easy to utilize graphical environment. The research will achieve this goal by: Identify key requirements that impact workforce scheduling Determine key"what-if"capabilities requirement needs to provide management necessary data for decision making Catalog financial needs in terms of overtime, expediting costs, etc Reduce time consuming nature of planning requirements to provide near real-time impacts of schedule changes to improve production level decision making Minimize the variation of scheduling decisions with understood impacts both up and down stream within production Within DoD there is a huge opportunity to expand the impact of the research due to the long service hours and battle damage equipment and the unknown nature of the repairs because of the uneven service lives. Within the private sector, there is also a large opportunity due to the aging infrastructure within utilities such as electrical, gas, and water.