Development of simulation and optimization platform to analyse maintenance policies performances for manufacturing systems

In this paper, a new approach that integrates the optimization algorithms and the simulation methods is proposed to analyse maintenance strategies performances for manufacturing systems in which operating characteristics deteriorate with use and whose lifetime and repair duration are random. The simulation language RAO (resource-action-operation) is used to implement the proposed approach. Numerical examples are carried out to validate the approach flexibility and efficiency. RAO is a discrete events simulator. This tool proposes a great flexibility of modeling, that allows one to keep track of each resource's evolution and even offers animation possibilities. By exploiting the characteristic of RAO, a new simulation and optimization platform of maintenance policies is presented.