Deciding a Multicriteria Decision-Making (MCDM) Method to Prioritize Maintenance Work Orders of Hydroelectric Power Plants

Renan Favarão Da Silva,Filippo Emanuele Ciarapica,Gilberto Francisco Martha De Souza,Maurizio Bevilacqua,Sara Antomarioni,Marjorie Maria Bellinello

doi:10.3390/en14248281

Abstract

The current global competitive scenario and the increase in complexity and automation of equipment and systems demand better results from maintenance management in organizations. As maintenance resources are limited, prioritizing maintenance activities is essential to allocate them properly and to meet maintenance management objectives. In the face of these challenges, multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are commonly used in organizations to support decision-making. Nevertheless, selecting a suitable MCDM method for maintenance planning can be complicated given the diversity of methods and their strengths and weaknesses. In this context, this paper proposes a novel knowledge-based method for deciding a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) method to prioritize maintenance work orders of hydroelectric plants. As the main novel contribution, it translates the intrinsic characteristics of the main MCDM methods into questions related to maintenance planning to guide the recommendation of a suitable MCDM method for organizations through a decision tree diagram. This approach was applied to a maintenance case study of a hydroelectric power plant in order to demonstrate its use and contribute to its understanding. These findings contribute to maintenance management in selecting an MCDM method aligned with the context of its maintenance planning for the prioritization of maintenance work orders.

Highlights

The current economic scenario and global competitiveness force companies to invest more resources in strengthening their production processes and support systems to maintain stability and create competitive advantages in organizations [1]
This paper proposes a novel knowledge-based method based on a decision tree diagram for deciding an multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) method to apply for maintenance work order (MWO)
MCDM methods have been widely used by professionals and researchers for this purpose in the last decades

Summary

Introduction

The current economic scenario and global competitiveness force companies to invest more resources in strengthening their production processes and support systems to maintain stability and create competitive advantages in organizations [1]. As maintenance is one of the key levers to deliver business outcomes [2], the challenges of intense international competition have created pressure for better results [3]. It has become part of the overall profitability of an organization and has played an important role in supporting business and operation strategies [4,5].

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion