Maintenance strategy selection in a cement company: An integrated AHP-FAHP approach

This study develops an integrated AHP-FAHP approach to select the best maintenance strategy for different equipment of a cement manufacturer located in Iran. Although the topic has been investigated in previous literature, it is less examined in cement manufacturers of developing countries. To fill this gap, this research has been conducted in three phases as follows. Firstly, the most important measures of maintenance strategy selection are developed and ranked using a questionnaire. Next, these measures are applied to choose the best maintenance strategy for different equipment of a case study using an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Finally, a Fuzzy AHP is developed to investigate the obtained results in an uncertain environment. The considered strategies include Corrective maintenance (CM), Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Predictive Maintenance (PDM). According to the obtained results, safety, cost, reliability and availability are the most important criteria of maintenance strategy selection. In addition, according to AHP, the PDM strategy is suggested for furnace, PM is suggested for electro filter machine and CM is suggested for crusher. These results are comparatively investigated by FAHP and some managerial insights are suggested.