I2MS2C – Intelligent Maintenance System Architecture Proposal

Abstract

Maintenance is crucial for the operation of today’s complex production systems. Insufficient maintenance due to missing spare parts, service equipment or personnel can result in breakdowns that have major negative impacts. Minimizing downtimes of the maintained system and on the other hand keeping the supply chain cost within an acceptable range can only be achieved by forecasting system breakdowns. Due to the occasional character of the maintenance demand and the broad range of affected system components, the application of “classical” forecasting methods – e.g. for finished products – does not allow for precise demand predictions and causes low forecast qualities. The objective of the Integrating Intelligent Maintenance Systems and Spare Parts Supply Chains (I2MS2C) project is improving the effectiveness and efficiency of service management operations for complex technical systems by integrating Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS) with planning and coordination methods and processes within the spare parts supply chain. This paper proposes an architecture for the Intelligent Maintenance System of the I2MS2C project, based on service oriented architecture using a multi agent system.