An off-line dual maximum resource bin packing model for solving the maintenance problem in the aviation industry

• Main Authors: George Cristian Gruia, Michal Kavan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nicolae Titulescu University 2013-05-01
• Series: Global Economic Observer
• Subjects: Bin packing; maximization; resources; scheduling
• Online Access: http://www.globeco.ro/wp-content/uploads/vol/split/vol_1_no_1/geo_2013_vol1_art_016.pdf

In the aviation industry, propeller motor engines have a lifecycle of several thousand hours of flight and the maintenance is an important part of their lifecycle. The present article considers a multi-resource, priority-based case scheduling problem, which is applied in a Romanian manufacturing company, that repairs and maintains helicopter and airplane engines at a certain quality level imposed by the aviation standards. Given a reduced budget constraint, the management’s goal is to maximize the utilization of their resources (financial, material, space, workers), by maintaining a prior known priority rule. An Off-Line Dual Maximum Resource Bin Packing model, based on a Mixed Integer Programming model is thus presented. The obtained results show an increase with approx. 25% of the Just in Time shipping of the engines to the customers and approx. 12,5% increase in the utilization of the working area.