EXPLOITING DETERMINISTIC MAINTENANCE OPPORTUNITY WINDOWS CREATED BY CONSERVATIVE ENGINEERING DESIGN RULES THAT RESULT IN FREE TIME LOCKED INTO LARGE HIGH-SPEED COUPLED PRODUCTION LINES WITH FINITE BUFFERS

Authors

  • Casper Durandt University of Stellenbosch Business School University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
  • Eon Van der Merwe Smit University of Stellenbosch Business School University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
  • Niek D Du Preez Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7166/27-2-1370

Keywords:

Coupled production, V-profile, free time, critical downtime, maintenance opportunity window

Abstract

Conservative engineering design rules for large serial coupled production processes result in machines having locked-in free time (also called ‘critical downtime’ or ‘maintenance opportunity windows’), which cause idle time if not used. Operators are not able to assess a large production process holistically, and so may not be aware that they form the current bottleneck – or that they have free time available due to interruptions elsewhere. A real-time method is developed to accurately calculate and display free time in location and magnitude, and efficiency improvements are demonstrated in large-scale production runs. 

Author Biographies

Casper Durandt, University of Stellenbosch Business School University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

The author is enrolled for a PhD degree in the University of Stellenbosch Business School

Eon Van der Merwe Smit, University of Stellenbosch Business School University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

The author is emeritus-professor in the University of Stellenbosch Business School

Niek D Du Preez, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

The author is emeritus-professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Stellenbosch

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Published

2016-08-12

How to Cite

Durandt, C., Smit, E. V. der M., & Du Preez, N. D. (2016). EXPLOITING DETERMINISTIC MAINTENANCE OPPORTUNITY WINDOWS CREATED BY CONSERVATIVE ENGINEERING DESIGN RULES THAT RESULT IN FREE TIME LOCKED INTO LARGE HIGH-SPEED COUPLED PRODUCTION LINES WITH FINITE BUFFERS. The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 27(2), 132–146. https://doi.org/10.7166/27-2-1370

Issue

Section

General Articles