Optimum Maintenance Policy Using Semi-Markov Decision Processes

A method is presented to solve for the optimum maintenance policy of repairable power equipment. The approach uses a continuous-time semi-Markov process (SMP) to first find the optimal maintenance rate for maximum availability of the equipment. Then a semi-Markov decision process (SMDP) is utilized to determine whether maintenance should be performed in each deterioration state. The approach uses a model that assumes equipment can fail due to both deterioration and random occurrences. Preventive maintenance can be performed from each working state to prevent deterioration failure. An example is used to demonstrate the method using MATLAB software.