Joint Optimal Buffer Inventory and Preventive Maintenance Strategy for a Randomly Failing Production Unit

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical model to determine both the buffer stock size and the preventive maintenance period for a production unit whose lifetime is random and which is submitted to regular preventive maintenance of random duration. The production unit must supply, at a constant rate β, an assembly line operating on a just-in-time basis. The proposed model integrates maintenance, storage and shortage costs. It allows to determine the values of operating parameters which minimize the total average cost per time unit.