Spreadsheet simulation-based optimization for personnel capacity requirement in breakdown maintenance

Abstract

This study’s objective is to find out the optimum number of personnel in breakdown maintenance activities. Spreadsheet simulation was used for that purpose considered spreadsheet is relatively not an expensive simulation software, familiar to many people, easy to use, yet powerful enough to do the simulation. Input data included in the simulation are time to repair and time between failures which are generated randomly following normal and uniform distribution respectively. The distribution identified by using the histogram and chi-squared test for distribution to find the best-fit distribution. The simulation results show that, the optimum number of personnel obtained when utilization of maintenance personnel is maximized while the number and/or time machines/equipment waiting in queued for maintenance personnel was minimized. In that condition, the cost of breakdown maintenance will be optimum.