Discrete Sequential Search with Group Activities

Equipment failures can have significant implications in terms of cost and customer satisfaction. Reducing the time required to find the cause of a failure can provide large cost savings and help preserve customer goodwill. Single-item discrete sequential search models can be used to sequence the tasks in diagnostic search to minimize the expected time required to find the cause of the failure. We increase the utility of the single-item discrete sequential search model by developing a formulation that includes simple precedence relationships as well as sequence dependent relationships defined by group activities. This formulation can be applied to a number of other problems including determining the sequence for multiple quality control tests on an item, scheduling oil well workovers to maximize the expected increase in oil production, and sequencing tasks in a research project where there is a technological risk associated with each task.