Sponsor:

Pine Bluff Arsenal

Research Team:

C. Richard Cassady, DeAnne Starks, Earnest W. Fant, Kellie Schneider , Pingjian Yu

Universities Involved:

University of Arkansas

Start Date:

10/01/01

End Date:

09/30/02

Summary:

The primary objective of this project is to accurately capture RAM issues related to operating a serial manufacturing line. The long-term objective of developing such a model is to facilitate the study of selective maintenance strategies that include policies for identifying and prioritizing corrective and preventive maintenance actions when the resources available for performing maintenance are limited.
A 2000-2001 TLI research project required the construction of a simulation model of a serial production line (the grenade line at the Pine Bluff Arsenal). In this project, the model will be enhanced through a more complete treatment of reliability and maintainability (RAM) characteristics of production equipment, as well as an improved user interface. The resulting simulation model will be applicable to any serial production line and will capture both productivity-based and RAM-based measures of equipment and line performance. While the primary objective of this project is to create a simulation model of a serial production line that accurately captures the RAM issues related to operating the line, the long-term objective of developing such a model is to facilitate the study of selective maintenance strategies for a serial production line. Selective maintenance strategies include policies for identifying and prioritizing corrective and preventive maintenance actions when the resources available for performing maintenance are limited. This long-term objective will be reinforced by future projects.