The aim of the paper to investigate means to optimize reliability and cost of a ceramic tile production system. For the purpose a stochastic model for system has been developed on the basis of the observations made while visiting the production system and analysed with respect reliability and cost. The system involves various subsystems viz. Ball Mill, Spray Dryer, Hydraulic Press, Glaze Line, Kiln and Silo. In the model, the redundant subsystems considered are Hydraulic Press, Glaze Line and Kiln whereas other subsystems are considered non-redundant. On failure of a redundant subsystem, the repairman first inspects in which component of the redundant subsystem has a fault and accordingly repair/ replacement is carried out. Further, the failure of the system also depend upon Silo as the material stored in the Silo, i.e. ‘Slip’ get consumed during the repair/ replacement of the failed Ball Mill and Spray Dryer. Using Markov process and regenerative point techniques, expressions have been derived for important measures of the system effectiveness. The expected profit of the system has also been computed. Taking in to account the data collected, the conclusions regarding optimization of reliability and profit of the system have been drawn through graphical analysis.
Volume 11 | 01-Special Issue
Pages: 1108-1118