An optimal screening policy for heterogeneous items with minimal repairs

Abstract

This article proposes a screening policy for heterogeneous repairable items, where each item is minimally repaired at failure and a limited number of minimal repairs is available. The item is replaced when the predetermined age is reached, the number of minimal repairs exceeds the upper limit, or the number of minimal repairs at the screening time exceeds the screening threshold, whichever occurs first. We show that the proposed screening policy is superior to the age replacement policy with repair number limit in terms of probability. The corresponding cost model is derived and an illustrative example is also presented.