Title: A decomposition approach to the preventive maintenance scheduling problem: an empirical example for the Spanish power plant system

Authors: Salvador Perez Canto

Addresses: Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering, University of Malaga, Campus of Teatinos, 29071 Malaga, Spain

Abstract: The power plant preventive maintenance scheduling problem is presented in this paper. A new model and a decomposition-based solution methodology are proposed. The problem consists of ascertaining which generating units must halt production regularly in order to be examined for safety. It is of major importance because a failure in a power station may cause a general breakdown in an electric network. The main consequence is that the electricity demands of customers will not be satisfied in such cases. The problem is analysed under the operations research perspective as an optimisation issue. Benders| decomposition technique is used to solve the model formulated. As an example, the obtained algorithm is applied to a real power plant setting. The final results are a schedule, which enables the efficient organisation of preventive maintenance, and the power to be produced by every plant over the time horizon considered.

Keywords: preventive maintenance; maintenance scheduling; power plants; optimisation; Benders| decomposition; Spain; power stations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2011.038483

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2011 Vol.22 No.1, pp.58 - 77

Published online: 27 Nov 2014 *

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