Capacity pooling in production systems, in the form of production capacity or inventory pooling, has been extensively studied in the literature. While production capacity pooling has been proven to be beneficial, the impact of inventory pooling has been less significant. These results cannot be easily extended to repairable systems due to fundamental differences between repairable and production systems. For one thing, in repairable systems, the demand rate is a function of the number of operational machines, whereas it is exogenous and constant in production systems. In this Thesis, to serve different fleets of machines possibly at different locations, we study whether repair shop pooling is more cost effective than having dedicated on-site repair shops for each fleet. In the first model, we consider transportation delays and related costs, which have been traditionally ignored in the literature. We include on-site spare-part inventories that operate according to a continuous-review base-stock policy. Our numerical findings indicate that when transportation costs are reasonable, repair shop pooling is a better alternative. Next, we model a pooled repair shop that fixes failed components from different k-out-of-n:G systems. We permit a shared spare parts inventory serving all systems and/or reserved spare parts inventories for each system; we call this a hybrid model. The destination for a repaired component can be chosen either on a first-come-first-served basis or by following a static priority rule. Our findings show that both hybrid policies are more cost effective than having separate repair shops and inventories for each system. We propose implementing the multilevel rationing (MR) policy in systems with shared inventory. The MR policy prioritizes classes, and stops serving a class from inventory if the inventory level is below the inventory threshold identified for that class. When there is no inventory, the repaired component is sent to the highest priority class among those with down machines. To approximate the cost of the MR policy, we study an M/G/1//N queueing system serving multiple classes of customers with an unreliable server. Our numerical findings indicate that the MR policy performs as well as the epsilon-optimal policy and outperforms the hybrid policies.

Capacity pooling in production systems, in the form of production capacity or inventory pooling, has been extensively studied in the literature. While production capacity pooling has been proven to be beneficial, the impact of inventory pooling has been less significant. These results cannot be easily extended to repairable systems due to fundamental differences between repairable and production systems. For one thing, in repairable systems, the demand rate is a function of the number of operational machines, whereas it is exogenous and constant in production systems. In this Thesis, to serve different fleets of machines possibly at different locations, we study whether repair shop pooling is more cost effective than having dedicated on-site repair shops for each fleet. In the first model, we consider transportation delays and related costs, which have been traditionally ignored in the literature. We include on-site spare-part inventories that operate according to a continuous-review base-stock policy. Our numerical findings indicate that when transportation costs are reasonable, repair shop pooling is a better alternative. Next, we model a pooled repair shop that fixes failed components from different k-out-of-n:G systems. We permit a shared spare parts inventory serving all systems and/or reserved spare parts inventories for each system; we call this a hybrid model. The destination for a repaired component can be chosen either on a first-come-first-served basis or by following a static priority rule. Our findings show that both hybrid policies are more cost effective than having separate repair shops and inventories for each system. We propose implementing the multilevel rationing (MR) policy in systems with shared inventory. The MR policy prioritizes classes, and stops serving a class from inventory if the inventory level is below the inventory threshold identified for that class. When there is no inventory, the repaired component is sent to the highest priority class among those with down machines. To approximate the cost of the MR policy, we study an M/G/1//N queueing system serving multiple classes of customers with an unreliable server. Our numerical findings indicate that the MR policy performs as well as the epsilon-optimal policy and outperforms the hybrid policies.

The operation and maintenance phase of a complex technical system may deal with strategicdecisions for asset retirement and end-of-life management. When a fleet of aircraft reachesthe retirement phase, the operation of remaining fleet should still be kept at a defined level ofavailability. Obviously, the provisioning of spares is a key issue to support the maintenanceand operation of the remaining fleet. The best practice within the aviation industry is to re-usethe spares of retired aircraft to support the operational fleet. This is referred to parting-out.The purpose of the research conducted for this thesis has been to develop decision supportmethodologies, models and tools for the management of a sustainable part-out-based sparesprovisioning for an aircraft fleet during its retirement period. The proposed methodology willbe used to support the retirement process of aircraft fleet and enhance the organisation’scapability of making efficient and cost-effective decisions concerning the re-use of spare partsduring the retirement period. To achieve the purpose of this research, literature studies, casestudies, algorithm development and simulations have been conducted. Empirical data havebeen collected through document studies, interviews, and the perusal of archival records fromSaab Support and Services AB. The data analysis performed for this research has been basedon theories and methodologies within reliability analysis, cost modelling, spares forecasting,stock provisioning and decision making, in combination with the best practices implementedby the aviation industry for the end-of-life management and retirement of aircraft.In the present thesis, part-out-based spares provisioning (PBSP) program is proposed to utiliseretired aircraft units effectively as spare parts. The proposed approach is illustrated andverified through a case study performed on the “Saab-105” military aircraft fleet withinSwedish air force fleet. A PBSP programme is proposed, associated management activitiesare described, the key decision criteria are presented, and a functional framework for aneffective PBSP is suggested. The proposed PBSP program provides a foundation for furthermeasures and tasks to be performed within the retirement period, such as terminatingmaintenance contracts, discarding internal maintenance capabilities, reviewing stocks, scalingdown administrative processes (e.g. spares procurement and obsolescence monitoring), etc.An important part of the PBSP programme is the reliability analysis of multiple repairableunits, and this has been investigated, using parametric and non-parametric reliabilityapproaches. The aim is to identify a practical approach for estimation of the future sparedemand at fleet level. Furthermore, a set of computational models and search algorithm havebeen developed for the identification of applicable termination times, of both the parting-outprocess and the maintenance and repair actions performed on the units. This includestermination of the parting-out process (PO), the sending of parted-out units directly to storage(POS), and repair actions performed on the units received at the repair shops owing tocorrective (CM) and preventive (PM) maintenance, as well as the parted-out units that need tobe repaired (POM). The feasible termination alternatives are compared with regard to theirrespective costs and the most cost-effective solutions are identified.The results of the research study show that a PBSP programme can yield large reductions inmaintenance and spares procurement costs, while supporting operation of existing fleet athighest required availability. It also contributes positively to implement a green supply chainduring the retirement phase. The methodology and approaches introduced within the thesiscan be applied in other civil applications, such as energy, mining, process industry andtransportation sectors.