Assessing the maintenance in a process using a semi-parametric approach

In developing any successful maintenance strategy it is important to be able to estimate the rate of occurrence of maintenance events. In a previous paper the authors have argued that there are advantages to using a non‐parametric or semi‐parametric approach to such analysis. In this paper the authors explore the use of the approach to data from the water industry using a case study. The approach provides insight into the context revealing the impact of maintenance on the process. The effect of the maintenance strategy can be evaluated. The paper explores the practical issues of missing values and implementation of an appropriate maintenance strategy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.