Title: Improving reliability of repairable systems using preventive maintenance and time-between-failures monitoring

Authors: Imad Alsyouf; Mohammad Shamsuzzaman; Gasim Abdelrahman; Mohammed Al-Taha

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Sustainable Engineering Asset Management (SEAM) Research Group, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Sustainable Engineering Asset Management (SEAM) Research Group, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to investigate how to assess the rate of occurrence of failure (ROCOF) of a multi-component repairable system and improve its reliability. A procedure was developed and tested on closed-circuit television dome cameras operated in an airport in the United Arab Emirates. Optimum replacement times for critical components were calculated, and then a practical preventive maintenance schema was suggested to reduce the overall cost. Finally, a control chart was developed to monitor the time between failures (TBFs) on the basis of the calculated ROCOF. The results of the case study show that optimising the maintenance renewal intervals generated a saving of approximately 77% in maintenance costs, reduced the ROCOF by approximately 94%, and increased the level of planned maintenance by approximately 97%. Furthermore, monitoring the TBFs of repairable systems could detect changes that might lead to failures over time, thus improving the reliability and ensuring the effectiveness of preventive maintenance. [Received 12 April 2015; Revised 27 December 2015; Revised 3 March 2016; Accepted 18 March 2016]

Keywords: reliability monitoring; control charts; preventive maintenance; repairable systems; bathtub curve; critical components; time between failures; TBF monitoring; effective planned maintenance; maintenance schemes; multi-component systems; closed-circuit television; CCTV dome cameras; airport cameras; United Arab Emirates; UAE; replacement times; case study; SPC; statistical process control.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIE.2016.078798

European Journal of Industrial Engineering, 2016 Vol.10 No.5, pp.596 - 617

Published online: 02 Sep 2016 *

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