Title: Modelling and analysis of service parts logistics systems

Authors: Fernando Tovia, Robert M. Brooks, C. Richard Cassady, Manuel D. Rossetti

Addresses: Industrial and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Textiles, Philadelphia University, School House Lane and Henry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. ' Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Bell Engineering Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. ' Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Bell Engineering Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

Abstract: Many organisations purchase equipment that is subject to unpredictable failures to carry out their services. When these breakdowns occur, maintenance technicians restore the equipment in a timely fashion either through repair or the installation of spare parts. In this research, the behaviour of the service parts logistics system (SPLS) is approximated with a modified M/G/1 HOL queuing model. Then, the costs structure of the SPLS is defined and approximated with a mathematical model that captures the interdependence of the inventory policy and the technician assignment. A heuristic |assign locations| is implemented based on the modified M/G/1 HOL queuing, the costs model and a genetic algorithm to search for the near-minimum cost technician assignment given a fixed technician|s vehicle inventory policy.

Keywords: service parts logistics; optimisation; genetic algorithms; M/G/1 queuing models; technician assignment; mathematical modelling; inventory policy; cost modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2011.037263

International Journal of Operational Research, 2011 Vol.10 No.1, pp.60 - 81

Published online: 14 Feb 2015 *

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