The parallel machine replacement problem consists of finding a minimum cost replacement policy for a finite population of economically interdependent machines. In this paper, we formulate a stochastic version of the problem and analyze the structure of optimal policies under general classes of replacement cost functions. We prove that for problems with arbitrary cost functions, there can be opt...

We develop and empirically implement a model of optimal replacement of rental equipment and apply the model to derive detailed optimal replacement strategies for five different types of rental machinery: 1) excavators, 2) high reach forklifts, 3) skid steers, 4) scissor lifts, and 5) telescopic booms. Using data on actual replacements, revenues, maintenance costs, new machine prices and resale ...

This paper describes the methods that were followed in the development and improvement of a statistical machine translation system for translation from English to Setswana. Setswana is regarded as a resource scarce language and therefore an adequate amount of parallel data is not freely available. The methods created attempt to improve the quality of a machine translation by manipulating the da...

During tunneling processes, disc cutters of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) usually need to be frequently and unexpectedly replaced. Regular inspections are needed check cutters’ status, which significantly reduces the work efficiency increases cost. This paper proposes new prediction model based on TBM operational parameters geological conditions that determines whether cutter replacement is nee...

in industries, preventive maintenance (pm) is not a new practice to minimise the sudden breakdown of production machine. pm will be performed at predetermine intervals to provide a balance between failure cost and component utilisation (aging). however, most of pm interval is based on experience or original equipment manufacturer (oem) recommendations. consequently, the benefits from pm are not...