The increasing speed gap between microprocessors and off-chip DRAM makes last-level caches (LLCs) a critical component for computer performance. Multi core processors aggravate the problem since multiple processor cores compete for the LLC. As a result, LLCs typically consume a significant amount of the die area and effective utilization of LLCs is mandatory for both performance and power efficiency. We present a novel replacement policy for last-level caches (LLCs). The fundamental observation is to view LLCs as a shared resource among multiple address streams with each stream being generated by a static memory access instruction. The management of LLCs in both single-core and multi-core processors can then be modeled as a competition among multiple instructions. In our proposed scheme, we prioritize those instructions based on the number of LLC accesses and reuses and only allow cache lines having high instruction priorities to replace those of low priorities. The hardware support for our proposed replacement policy is light-weighted. Our experimental results based on a set of SPEC 2006 benchmarks show that it achieves significant performance improvement upon the least-recently used (LRU) replacement policy for benchmarks with high numbers of LLC misses. To handle LRU-friendly workloads, the set sampling technique is adopted to retain the benefits from the LRU replacement policy.

Recent advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and low-power short-range radios have enabled rapid development of wireless sensor networks. Future sensor networks are anticipated to include hundreds or thousands of these devices in many applications, such as capturing multimedia content for surveillance, structural health monitoring, tracking of accidental chemical leaks, machine failures, earthquakes and intrusion detection. With the increase of sensor applications, a number of challenging problems related to the network protocol design has emerged - the most important ones relating to energy efficiency and lifetime maximisation. Techniques devised for sensor networks should deal with a large number of sensors distributed in the field. Wireless sensor nodes are deployed with limited energy reserves, so the networks should operate with minimum energy overhead. In fact, the network should take into account not only individual node's energy efficiency but also consider the global picture, because surviving nodes' energy reserves in a failed network are wasted energy. This thesis examines a node organisation technique to deal with the above challenges. The focus is on improving network lifetime via organising the nodes in a distributed and energy efficient manner. The main goal is lowering wasted energy via energy balancing and exploiting node redundancy in case of node failure. In particular, this thesis proposes Energy Balanced Clustering (EBC) method for node self-organisation where network tasks (such as data aggregation and data forwarding) are shifted to high-energy neighbours to reduce the energy consumption of low energy nodes. After showing how to extend network lifetime by energy balanced node organisation, the effect of redundant node deployments on network lifetime is addressed. Redundant nodes consume energy by performing unnecessary tasks so a method called Self-Calculated Redundancy Check (SCRC) is proposed to deactivate redundant nodes. A deactivated redundant node can be used as a replacement for a failed node. The Asynchronous Failed Sensor node Detection (AFSD) proposed in this thesis uses the data packets exchanged between neighbours to identify failed neighbours. To restore coverage for network holes caused by failed nodes, policies are given for re-activating redundant nodes. Detailed analytical analysis and simulation of the proposed methods demonstrate that by taking into account energy balancing, eliminating redundant tasks and replacing failed nodes sensor network lifetime can significantly be improved.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Recent years have seen a growth in research on system reliability and maintenance. Various studies in the scientific fields of reliability engineering, quality and productivity analyses, risk assessment, software reliability, and probabilistic machine learning are being undertaken in the present era. The dependency of human life on technology has made it more important to maintain such systems and maximize their potential. In this dissertation, some methodologies are presented that maximize certain measures of system reliability, explain the underlying stochastic behavior of certain systems, and prevent the risk of system failure. An overview of the dissertation is provided in Chapter 1, where we briefly discuss some useful definitions and concepts in probability theory and stochastic processes and present some mathematical results required in later chapters. Thereafter, we present the motivation and outline of each subsequent chapter. In Chapter 2, we compute the limiting average availability of a one-unit repairable system subject to repair facilities and spare units. Formulas for finding the limiting average availability of a repairable system exist only for some special cases: (1) either the lifetime or the repair-time is exponential; or (2) there is one spare unit and one repair facility. In contrast, we consider a more general setting involving several spare units and several repair facilities; and we allow arbitrary life- and repair-time distributions. Under periodic monitoring, which essentially discretizes the time variable, we compute the limiting average availability. The discretization approach closely approximates the existing results in the special cases; and demonstrates as anticipated that the limiting average availability increases with additional spare unit and/or repair facility. In Chapter 3, the system experiences two types of sporadic impact: valid shocks that cause damage instantaneously and positive interventions that induce partial healing. Whereas each shock inflicts a fixed magnitude of damage, the accumulated effect of k positive interventions nullifies the damaging effect of one shock. The system is said to be in Stage 1, when it can possibly heal, until the net count of impacts (valid shocks registered minus valid shocks nullified) reaches a threshold $m_1$. The system then enters Stage 2, where no further healing is possible. The system fails when the net count of valid shocks reaches another threshold $m_2 (> m_1)$. The inter-arrival times between successive valid shocks and those between successive positive interventions are independent and follow arbitrary distributions. Thus, we remove the restrictive assumption of an exponential distribution, often found in the literature. We find the distributions of the sojourn time in Stage 1 and the failure time of the system. Finally, we find the optimal values of the choice variables that minimize the expected maintenance cost per unit time for three different maintenance policies. In Chapter 4, the above defined Stage 1 is further subdivided into two parts: In the early part, called Stage 1A, healing happens faster than in the later stage, called Stage 1B. The system stays in Stage 1A until the net count of impacts reaches a predetermined threshold $m_A$; then the system enters Stage 1B and stays there until the net count reaches another predetermined threshold $m_1 (>m_A)$. Subsequently, the system enters Stage 2 where it can no longer heal. The system fails when the net count of valid shocks reaches another predetermined higher threshold $m_2 (> m_1)$. All other assumptions are the same as those in Chapter 3. We calculate the percentage improvement in the lifetime of the system due to the subdivision of Stage 1. Finally, we make optimal choices to minimize the expected maintenance cost per unit time for two maintenance policies. Next, we eliminate the restrictive assumption that all valid shocks and all positive interventions have equal magnitude, and the boundary threshold is a preset constant value. In Chapter 5, we study a system that experiences damaging external shocks of random magnitude at stochastic intervals, continuous degradation, and self-healing. The system fails if cumulative damage exceeds a time-dependent threshold. We develop a preventive maintenance policy to replace the system such that its lifetime is utilized prudently. Further, we consider three variations on the healing pattern: (1) shocks heal for a fixed finite duration $\tau$; (2) a fixed proportion of shocks are non-healable (that is, $\tau=0$); (3) there are two types of shocks---self healable shocks heal for a finite duration, and non-healable shocks. We implement a proposed preventive maintenance policy and compare the optimal replacement times in these new cases with those in the original case, where all shocks heal indefinitely. Finally, in Chapter 6, we present a summary of the dissertation with conclusions and future research potential.

For many data access applications, the availability of the most updated information is a fundamental and rigid requirement. In spite of many technological improvements, in wireless networks, wireless channels (or bandwidth) are the most scarce resources and hence are expensive. Data access from remote sites heavily depends on these expensive resources. Due to affordable smart mobile devices and tremendous popularity of various Internet-based services, demand for data from these mobile devices are growing very fast. In many cases, it is becoming impossible for the wireless data service providers to satisfy the demand for data using the current network infrastructures. An efficient caching scheme at the client side can soothe the problem by reducing the amount of data transferred over the wireless channels. However, an update event makes the associated cached data objects obsolete and useless for the applications. Frequencies of data update, as well as data access play essential roles in cache access and replacement policies. Intuitively, frequently accessed and infrequently updated objects should be given higher preference while preserving in the cache. However, modeling this intuition is challenging, particularly in a network environment where updates are injected by both the server and the clients, distributed all over networks. In this thesis, we strive to make three inter-related contributions. Firstly, we propose two enhanced cache access policies. The access policies ensure strong consistency of the cached data objects through proactive or reactive interactions with the data server. At the same time, these policies collect information about access and update frequencies of hosted objects to facilitate efficient deployment of the cache replacement policy. Secondly, we design a replacement policy which plays the decision maker role when there is a new object to accommodate in a fully occupied cache. The statistical information collected by the access policies enables the decision making process. This process is modeled around the idea of preserving frequently accessed but less frequently updated objects in the cache. Thirdly, we analytically show that a cache management scheme with the proposed replacement policy bundled with any of the cache access policies guarantees optimum amount of data transmission by increasing the number of effective hits in the cache system. Results from both analysis and our extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed policies outperform the popular Least Frequently Used (LFU) policy in terms of both effective hits and bandwidth consumption. Moreover, our flexible system model makes the proposed policies equally applicable to applications for the existing 3G, as well as upcoming LTE, LTE Advanced and WiMAX wireless data access networks.

For many data access applications, the availability of the most updated information is a fundamental and rigid requirement. In spite of many technological improvements, in wireless networks, wireless channels (or bandwidth) are the most scarce resources and hence are expensive. Data access from remote sites heavily depends on these expensive resources. Due to affordable smart mobile devices and tremendous popularity of various Internet-based services, demand for data from these mobile devices are growing very fast. In many cases, it is becoming impossible for the wireless data service providers to satisfy the demand for data using the current network infrastructures. An efficient caching scheme at the client side can soothe the problem by reducing the amount of data transferred over the wireless channels. However, an update event makes the associated cached data objects obsolete and useless for the applications. Frequencies of data update, as well as data access play essential roles in cache access and replacement policies. Intuitively, frequently accessed and infrequently updated objects should be given higher preference while preserving in the cache. However, modeling this intuition is challenging, particularly in a network environment where updates are injected by both the server and the clients, distributed all over networks. In this thesis, we strive to make three inter-related contributions. Firstly, we propose two enhanced cache access policies. The access policies ensure strong consistency of the cached data objects through proactive or reactive interactions with the data server. At the same time, these policies collect information about access and update frequencies of hosted objects to facilitate efficient deployment of the cache replacement policy. Secondly, we design a replacement policy which plays the decision maker role when there is a new object to accommodate in a fully occupied cache. The statistical information collected by the access policies enables the decision making process. This process is modeled around the idea of preserving frequently accessed but less frequently updated objects in the cache. Thirdly, we analytically show that a cache management scheme with the proposed replacement policy bundled with any of the cache access policies guarantees optimum amount of data transmission by increasing the number of effective hits in the cache system. Results from both analysis and our extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed policies outperform the popular Least Frequently Used (LFU) policy in terms of both effective hits and bandwidth consumption. Moreover, our flexible system model makes the proposed policies equally applicable to applications for the existing 3G, as well as upcoming LTE, LTE Advanced and WiMAX wireless data access networks.

O sistema de transporte público por ônibus no Brasil tem sido afetado por influências variadas que exigem do setor uma maior eficiência e redução de custos. A queda da demanda de passageiros nos centros urbanos e o aumento do preço dos insumos das empresas de transporte acima da inflação oneram significativamente o sistema de transporte. Considerando que o ativo operacional mais importante da empresa é o ônibus, uma política de substituição destes equipamentos viabiliza uma gestão mais eficiente e econômica da empresa. O objetivo desta Dissertação é o de desenvolver uma sistemática para Política de Substituição de Frotas de Ônibus para Transporte Coletivo Urbano, integrando aspectos econômico-financeiros, quantitativos e qualitativos com o uso da Engenharia Econômica e da Análise Multicritério. A metodologia do estudo foi baseada na pesquisa-ação, no sentido de desenvolver a sistemática com a participação dos colaboradores da empresa estudada e de validar a mesma com a sua aplicação. A sistemática foi implementada em uma empresa pública de transporte coletivo urbano por ônibus, a Companhia Carris Porto-Alegrense. A Vida Econômica da frota foi calculada assim como os benefícios intangíveis através de um método híbrido multicritério, combinando MAUT, AHP e QFD. Gerou-se um índice benefício/custo, o qual classificou o modelo ideal de ônibus para a empresa e a faixa ideal de substituição em função do tipo e nível tecnológico do ônibus. A análise dos resultados revelou que quanto mais avançado tecnologicamente, mais curta é a vida econômica do ônibus. Os resultados da análise econômica e multicritério da aplicação da sistemática proposta indicam que a empresa deveria adquirir tecnologia compatível com a sua prestação de serviço. Veículos com alta tecnologia, mas inadequados a determinados itinerários das linhas da empresa, podem provocar uma operação ineficiente e um aumento substancial nos custos de manutenção e operação dos mesmos. Portanto, os resultados enfatizam a necessidade de um processo de aquisição que priorize principalmente os custos de operação e manutenção do veículo e não apenas o custo de aquisição do mesmo. / The public bus transportation system in Brazil has been affected by varied influences, which in turn have created a demand for higher efficiency and cost reduction from the sector. The decrease in the number of passengers in the urban centers, plus the price increase of the inputs of transportation companies above the inflation rate burdens the transportation system significantly. Considering that the most important operational asset of the company is the bus itself, an Equipment Replacement Policy makes it possible to have a more efficient and economic management of the company. The main purpose of this Dissertation was to develop a systematic procedure for a Fleet Replacement Policy for public buses, thus integrating economic-financial, quantitative and qualitative aspects coupled with the use of Engineering Economy and Multicriterial Analysis. The methodology of the study was based upon the action research approach, since company employees participated in the development of the systematic procedure that was implemented in an urban public bus transportation company, the Cia. Carris Porto-Alegrense. The Economic Life of the fleet was calculated as well as the intangible benefits with the use of a hybrid multicriteria method, combining MAUT, AHP and QFD. A benefit/cost index was determined, based upon which the ideal bus model for the company and the timing of replacement according to type and technological level of the buses were determined. The results disclosed that the more advanced technology of the equipment, the shorter is the economic life of the bus. The economic and multicriteria analysis of the application indicate that the company should acquire compatible technology with its rendering of services. High technology vehicles assigned do inadequate itineraries or campany routes, can result in an inefficient operation and a substantial increase in the maintenance costs and operation of the same ones. Therefore, the results emphasize the need for an acquisition process that mainly prioritizes the costs of operation and maintenance of the vehicle and as well as the cost of its acquisition.

Cache replacement policies can play a pivotal role in the overall performance of a system by preserving data locality and thus limiting the o -chip accesses. In a shared memory system, a cache coherence protocol is necessary to ensure correctness of data computations by maintaining the state of entries in the cache. In this work we attempt to build and investigate the effect of cache replacement policies using the information provided by cache coherence protocol states. The cache coherence protocol states give us an idea about the state of entry with respect to other cores in the system. State based analysis of SPLASH-2 and PARSEC benchmark suites show that this information hints us towards the locality patterns of cache blocks, which can be used to prioritize the order of replacement of a cache states in a replacement policy. We model ten di erent cache state based replacement policies, three having xed priorities and seven whose priorities vary dynamically over the most recently used state. We compare these policies against the standard replacement policies (LRU, FIFO and Random) in terms of system performance and ease of implementation. We develop our simulation framework using the Multi2Sim simulator, where we model cache state based replacement policies. We simulate SPLASH-2 and PARSEC benchmark suites over a variety of con gurations, where we vary the number of cores, associatively for each level of cache, private/shared L2 cache. We characterize the programs to find out critical components for performance. For an 8-core system we observe that the best case among these state based replacement policies shows marginal improvements in IPC over the Random and FIFO policies, falling slightly short of LRU. We design the state based replacement policies using a smaller cache (CSL-cache), which is used to store the state information of the blocks in the main cache. The CSL cache communicates with the controller to provide the replacement entry. The complexity associated with the system is equal to FIFO and is independent of the associatively of the cache.

O consumo de energia se torna cada vez mais importante para a arquitetura de processadores, onde o número de cores dentro de um mesmo chip está aumentando mas o total de energia disponível se mantém no mesmo nível ou até mesmo se reduz. Assim, técnicas para economizar energia, tais como opções de escala de frequência e desligamento automático de subsistemas, estão sendo usadas para manter a troca entre energia e desempenho. Para se obter alto desempenho, os atuais Chip Multiprocessors (CMPs) integram grandes memórias cache a fim de reduzir a latência média para acesso a memória principal, através da alocação do conjunto de dados da aplicação dentro do chip. Essas memórias cache tem sido projetadas tradicionalmente para explorar a localidade temporal usando políticas de substituição inteligentes e localidade espacial buscando todos os dados da linha da cache após uma falta de dados. Entretanto, estudos recentes mostraram que o número de sub-blocos dentro da linha da memória cache, que são realmente usados, costuma ser baixo, sendo que, os sub-blocos que são usados recebem poucos acessos antes de se tornarem mortos (isto é, nunca mais são acessados). Além disso, muitas da linhas da memória cache permanecem ligadas por longos períodos de tempo, mesmo que os dados não sejam usados novamente ou são inválidos. Para linhas de cache modificadas, a memória cache aguarda até que a linha seja expulsa para que esta seja gravada (write-back) de volta no próximo nível de memória. Essas escritas competem com as requisições de leitura (demanda do processador e prébusca da cache), aumentando a pressão no controlador de memória. Por essas razões, a eficiência energética e o desempenho das memórias cache não são ideais. Essa tese propõe a aplicação de preditores de uso de linhas da cache para aumentar a eficiência energética das memórias cache. São propostos os mecanismos Dead Sub-Block Predictor (DSBP) e Dead Line and Early Write-Back Predictor (DEWP) para permitir economia de energia sem que haja degradação do desempenho. DSBP é usado para prever quais sub-blocos da linha da cache serão usados e quantas vezes eles serão acessados de forma a trazer para a cache apenas os sub-blocos úteis e desliga-los após eles serem acessados pelo número de vezes previsto. DEWP prevê linhas de cache mortas assim que elas recebem o último acesso, desligando essas linhas. As linhas sujas são escalonadas para sofrerem write-back após a última operação de escrita, aumentando o potencial de salvar energia, reduzindo também a pressão no controlador de memória. Ambos os mecanismos propostos também reduzem a poluição nas memórias cache, dando prioridade para a expulsão de linhas mortas, melhorando as atuais políticas de substituição. Embora cada mecanismo apresentado seja capaz de funcionar separadamente dentro do sistema, ambos os mecanismos podem também ser misturados em uma mesma hierarquia de cache. Essa implementação mista é interessante pois a granularidade de sub-bloco é preferível para níveis de cache próximos do processador, onde as linhas de memória cache são expulsas rapidamente, enquanto o último nível de cache tende a usar toda a linha antes da sua expulsão. Com o intuito de avaliar os mecanismos propostos, é apresentado o Simulator of Non- Uniform Cache Architectures (SiNUCA). Esse simulador de microarquitetura com precisão de ciclos é validado em termos de desempenho e consumo de energia através da comparação com um processador real. Os resultados de desempenho foram obtidos executando aplicações das cargas de trabalho single-threaded do conjunto SPEC-CPU2006 e aplicações multi-threaded dos conjuntos SPEC-OMP2001 e NAS-NPB. Os resultados relativos a energia foram obtidos integrando o SiNUCA com as ferramentas de modelagem Multi-core Power, Area, and Timing (McPAT) e CACTI. Quando aplicados os mecanismos em todos os níveis de memória cache, observou-se em média uma redução de 36% no consumo de energia usando o DSBP, 25% usando o DEWP e 37% quando usou-se o DSBP nos níveis L1 e L2 e o DEWP no último nível. Todas essas reduções causaram uma perda desprezível de desempenho de menos de 4% em média. / Energy consumption is becoming more important for processor architectures, where the number of cores inside the chip is increasing and the total power budget is kept at the same level or even reduced. Thus, energy saving techniques such as frequency scaling options and automatic shutdown of sub-systems are being used to maintain the trade-off between power and performance. To deliver high performance, current Chip Multiprocessors (CMPs) integrate large caches in order to reduce the average memory access latency by allocating the applications’ working set on-chip. These cache memories have traditionally been designed to exploit temporal locality by using smart replacement policies, and spatial locality by fetching entire cache lines from memory on a cache miss. However, recent studies have shown that the number of sub-blocks within a line that are actually used is often low, and those sub-blocks that are used are accessed only a few times before becoming dead (that is, never accessed again). Additionally, many of the cache lines remain powered for a long period of time even if the data is not used again, or is invalid. For modified cache lines, the cache memory waits until the line is evicted to perform the write-back to next memory level. These write-backs compete with read requests (processor demand and cache prefetch), increasing the pressure on the memory controller. For these reasons, the energy efficiency and performance of cache memories are not ideal. This thesis introduces cache line usage predictors to increase the energy efficiency of cache memories. We propose the Dead Sub-Block Predictor (DSBP) and Dead Line and Early Write-Back Predictor (DEWP) mechanisms to enable energy savings without performance degradation. DSBP is used to predict which sub-blocks of a cache line will be actually accessed and how many times they will be used in order to bring into the cache only those sub-blocks that are necessary, and power them off after they are accessed the predicted number of times. DEWP predicts dead lines as soon as they receive the last access, and turns off these lines. Dirty lines are scheduled for write-back after the last write operation occurs, increasing the energy savings potential and also reducing the pressure on the memory controller. Both proposed mechanisms also reduce pollution in cache memories by prioritizing dead lines for eviction in the existing replacement policy. Although each introduced mechanism is capable of performing separately inside a system, both mechanisms can also be mixed in the same cache hierarchy. This mixed implementation is interesting because the sub-block granularity is more suitable for cache levels closer to the processor, where the cache lines are quickly evicted, while the Last- Level Cache (LLC) tends to use the whole cache line before its eviction. In order to evaluate our proposed mechanisms, we introduce the Simulator of Non- Uniform Cache Architectures (SiNUCA). This cycle-accurate microarchitecture simulator is validated in terms of performance and energy consumption by comparing it to a real processor. Our performance results were obtained executing single-threaded applications from SPEC-CPU2006 and multi-threaded applications from SPEC-OMP2001 and NASNPB benchmark suites. The energy related results were obtained by integrating SiNUCA with the Multi-core Power, Area, and Timing (McPAT) framework and the CACTI power modeling tool. When applying our mechanisms on all the cache levels, we observe on average a 36% energy reduction for DSBP, 25% energy reduction using DEWP and an average reduction of 37% in the energy consumption applying DSBP on L1 and L2 and DEWP on the LLC. All these reductions caused a negligible performance loss of less than 4% on average.

O sistema de transporte público por ônibus no Brasil tem sido afetado por influências variadas que exigem do setor uma maior eficiência e redução de custos. A queda da demanda de passageiros nos centros urbanos e o aumento do preço dos insumos das empresas de transporte acima da inflação oneram significativamente o sistema de transporte. Considerando que o ativo operacional mais importante da empresa é o ônibus, uma política de substituição destes equipamentos viabiliza uma gestão mais eficiente e econômica da empresa. O objetivo desta Dissertação é o de desenvolver uma sistemática para Política de Substituição de Frotas de Ônibus para Transporte Coletivo Urbano, integrando aspectos econômico-financeiros, quantitativos e qualitativos com o uso da Engenharia Econômica e da Análise Multicritério. A metodologia do estudo foi baseada na pesquisa-ação, no sentido de desenvolver a sistemática com a participação dos colaboradores da empresa estudada e de validar a mesma com a sua aplicação. A sistemática foi implementada em uma empresa pública de transporte coletivo urbano por ônibus, a Companhia Carris Porto-Alegrense. A Vida Econômica da frota foi calculada assim como os benefícios intangíveis através de um método híbrido multicritério, combinando MAUT, AHP e QFD. Gerou-se um índice benefício/custo, o qual classificou o modelo ideal de ônibus para a empresa e a faixa ideal de substituição em função do tipo e nível tecnológico do ônibus. A análise dos resultados revelou que quanto mais avançado tecnologicamente, mais curta é a vida econômica do ônibus. Os resultados da análise econômica e multicritério da aplicação da sistemática proposta indicam que a empresa deveria adquirir tecnologia compatível com a sua prestação de serviço. Veículos com alta tecnologia, mas inadequados a determinados itinerários das linhas da empresa, podem provocar uma operação ineficiente e um aumento substancial nos custos de manutenção e operação dos mesmos. Portanto, os resultados enfatizam a necessidade de um processo de aquisição que priorize principalmente os custos de operação e manutenção do veículo e não apenas o custo de aquisição do mesmo. / The public bus transportation system in Brazil has been affected by varied influences, which in turn have created a demand for higher efficiency and cost reduction from the sector. The decrease in the number of passengers in the urban centers, plus the price increase of the inputs of transportation companies above the inflation rate burdens the transportation system significantly. Considering that the most important operational asset of the company is the bus itself, an Equipment Replacement Policy makes it possible to have a more efficient and economic management of the company. The main purpose of this Dissertation was to develop a systematic procedure for a Fleet Replacement Policy for public buses, thus integrating economic-financial, quantitative and qualitative aspects coupled with the use of Engineering Economy and Multicriterial Analysis. The methodology of the study was based upon the action research approach, since company employees participated in the development of the systematic procedure that was implemented in an urban public bus transportation company, the Cia. Carris Porto-Alegrense. The Economic Life of the fleet was calculated as well as the intangible benefits with the use of a hybrid multicriteria method, combining MAUT, AHP and QFD. A benefit/cost index was determined, based upon which the ideal bus model for the company and the timing of replacement according to type and technological level of the buses were determined. The results disclosed that the more advanced technology of the equipment, the shorter is the economic life of the bus. The economic and multicriteria analysis of the application indicate that the company should acquire compatible technology with its rendering of services. High technology vehicles assigned do inadequate itineraries or campany routes, can result in an inefficient operation and a substantial increase in the maintenance costs and operation of the same ones. Therefore, the results emphasize the need for an acquisition process that mainly prioritizes the costs of operation and maintenance of the vehicle and as well as the cost of its acquisition.

O sistema de transporte público por ônibus no Brasil tem sido afetado por influências variadas que exigem do setor uma maior eficiência e redução de custos. A queda da demanda de passageiros nos centros urbanos e o aumento do preço dos insumos das empresas de transporte acima da inflação oneram significativamente o sistema de transporte. Considerando que o ativo operacional mais importante da empresa é o ônibus, uma política de substituição destes equipamentos viabiliza uma gestão mais eficiente e econômica da empresa. O objetivo desta Dissertação é o de desenvolver uma sistemática para Política de Substituição de Frotas de Ônibus para Transporte Coletivo Urbano, integrando aspectos econômico-financeiros, quantitativos e qualitativos com o uso da Engenharia Econômica e da Análise Multicritério. A metodologia do estudo foi baseada na pesquisa-ação, no sentido de desenvolver a sistemática com a participação dos colaboradores da empresa estudada e de validar a mesma com a sua aplicação. A sistemática foi implementada em uma empresa pública de transporte coletivo urbano por ônibus, a Companhia Carris Porto-Alegrense. A Vida Econômica da frota foi calculada assim como os benefícios intangíveis através de um método híbrido multicritério, combinando MAUT, AHP e QFD. Gerou-se um índice benefício/custo, o qual classificou o modelo ideal de ônibus para a empresa e a faixa ideal de substituição em função do tipo e nível tecnológico do ônibus. A análise dos resultados revelou que quanto mais avançado tecnologicamente, mais curta é a vida econômica do ônibus. Os resultados da análise econômica e multicritério da aplicação da sistemática proposta indicam que a empresa deveria adquirir tecnologia compatível com a sua prestação de serviço. Veículos com alta tecnologia, mas inadequados a determinados itinerários das linhas da empresa, podem provocar uma operação ineficiente e um aumento substancial nos custos de manutenção e operação dos mesmos. Portanto, os resultados enfatizam a necessidade de um processo de aquisição que priorize principalmente os custos de operação e manutenção do veículo e não apenas o custo de aquisição do mesmo. / The public bus transportation system in Brazil has been affected by varied influences, which in turn have created a demand for higher efficiency and cost reduction from the sector. The decrease in the number of passengers in the urban centers, plus the price increase of the inputs of transportation companies above the inflation rate burdens the transportation system significantly. Considering that the most important operational asset of the company is the bus itself, an Equipment Replacement Policy makes it possible to have a more efficient and economic management of the company. The main purpose of this Dissertation was to develop a systematic procedure for a Fleet Replacement Policy for public buses, thus integrating economic-financial, quantitative and qualitative aspects coupled with the use of Engineering Economy and Multicriterial Analysis. The methodology of the study was based upon the action research approach, since company employees participated in the development of the systematic procedure that was implemented in an urban public bus transportation company, the Cia. Carris Porto-Alegrense. The Economic Life of the fleet was calculated as well as the intangible benefits with the use of a hybrid multicriteria method, combining MAUT, AHP and QFD. A benefit/cost index was determined, based upon which the ideal bus model for the company and the timing of replacement according to type and technological level of the buses were determined. The results disclosed that the more advanced technology of the equipment, the shorter is the economic life of the bus. The economic and multicriteria analysis of the application indicate that the company should acquire compatible technology with its rendering of services. High technology vehicles assigned do inadequate itineraries or campany routes, can result in an inefficient operation and a substantial increase in the maintenance costs and operation of the same ones. Therefore, the results emphasize the need for an acquisition process that mainly prioritizes the costs of operation and maintenance of the vehicle and as well as the cost of its acquisition.