Optimization of the replacement time for critical repairable components

Abstract

Equipment-intensive industries must manage critical components due to their impact on the availability and high inventory carrying costs. In this context, this study seeks to assess mean times between interventions (MTBI) and mean times between failures (MTBF) to determine optimal replacement times for critical repairable components used in six EX5500 hydraulic excavators operating at an open-pit mining site. For these purposes, the authors compared a base policy using the MTBF values provided by the equipment manufacturer, against the proposed policy using the MTBI values obtained from equipment intervention records. The results from the study, revealed that the MTBI policy was able to streamline the replacement times for critical repairable components, thus, generating a cost optimization model at a higher level of reliability.