Optimization of Maintenance in Production and Storage Systems for Domestic Water

Health care organizations are important consumers of domestic water, not only for human consumption, but also for the proper working of care services such as dialysis, and processes including laboratory analysis and laundering. Nonetheless, despite the importance of production and storage systems for domestic water, there is no objective mathematical model to facilitate decision making about maintenance. This article describes an innovative multicriteria model integrating Markov chains with the Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH) approach to choose the best combination of maintenance policies to apply in a Hospital. This model was constructed using a decision group comprising representatives of each care area and service at the Hospital. The study describes the real implications for availability and quality of care of applying the results obtained. The criteria, descriptors, alternatives and procedures presented in this paper may serve as standards for other health care organizations that wish to optimize maintenance applied to production and storage systems for domestic water.