A new approach to select the reliable suppliers for one-shot devices

Abstract

A one-shot device is referred to as a unit that performs its function only once, hence a one-shot device cannot be used for testing more than once. Missiles, airbags of automobiles, magnetorheological fluids, and thermal batteries are some examples of one-shot devices. Usually, one-shot devices are kept in storage or in the stand-by condition and taken into use when required. As a matter of fact, proper operation of such devices at designated times becomes an important issue. Thus, choosing appropriate and reliable suppliers of one-shot devices in preventive maintenance periods can be regarded as a critical measure. This paper presents a new approach to provide resilience in supplier selection for one-shot devices and its subsystems in response to risks. In this research: (1) an expert team is set up having experience and expertise in one-shot systems, (2) risks of suppliers are estimated using satisfying and simple additive weighting (SAW) methods, (3) risk related to each equipment are determined by a cause and effect matrix, (4) after presenting a novel integrated approach, the best combination for one-shot equipment suppliers is selected by using fault tree analysis, (5) finally, to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, a real case study is also used. This approach can therefore be used for determining faults in the entire system evaluated along with allocating suppliers to each equipment by considering suppliers and equipment risks as well as making and selecting scenarios.