A tabu search algorithm for determining the economic design parameters of an integrated production planning, quality control and preventive maintenance policy

Production, quality and management are three important aspects in an industrial process and in engineering management. In this work, an integrated model of economic production quantity (EPQ), economic design of an x-bar control chart, and preventive maintenance (PM) are investigated under non-uniform quality control parameters (n, k and h). A deteriorating process is assumed, where an in-control process follows a general probability distribution with an increasing hazard rate. The PM level is used to reduce the shift rate of the process in the out-of-control state. Different levels of the PM are considered. The effect on the expected total cost and quality control cost is investigated with three different assumptions of the quality control parameters: k and n uniform, and h as non-uniform; k as uniform and, h and n as nonuniform; k, n and h as non-uniform. Using a tabu seach algorithm, the optimal values of quality control parameters, for different PM levels, are found. The integrated model is also discussed analytically.