Our motivation is the problem of determining condition based maintenance policies, for systems whose degradation may be modelled by a continuous time stochastic process. The process is modelled by a Lévy process; failure occurs when the degradation reaches a critical level. The system may be inspected or repaired at any time, and that the costs of inspections and repairs may depend on the of sy...

The design of a supply chain has been considered by many practitioners and researchers recently. One model that is used to optimize distribution from a single facility (depot) to a set of retailers over a given planning horizon and considering stock management decisions is known as Inventory Routing Problem (IRP). This model tries to optimize the trade-off between inventory and transportation c...

This study aimed at presenting a method for formulating optimal production, repair and replacement policies. The system was based on the production rate of defective parts and machine repairs and then was set up to optimize maintenance activities and related costs. The machine is either repaired or replaced. The machine is changed completely in the replacement process, but the productio...

Introduction Hospital systems for the recognition (afferent limb) and management (efferent limb) of deteriorating patients, or Rapid Response Systems (RRS), are being mandated world-wide. This is despite conflicting evidence regarding their efficacy, with studies criticised for afferent limb failure, and questionable end points1. Additionally there are concerns regarding treatment limitation de...

Early warning systems (EWS) identify patients at risk with a view to improving morbidity and mortality rates using early therapeutic and transfer actions. We have recently implemented an EWS that focuses on two main aspects: the guidance of care after discharge from the ICU, and recognition of the onset of deteriorating health among adult patients in general wards through physiologically based ...

A systematic literature review recently highlighted the complexity of nursing practice in terms of detecting and managing deteriorating ward patients (Odell et al, 2009). The findings suggest that rapid response systems, including early warning scores, may not be the only solution to the problems of detecting and managing signs of deterioration. This article summarises the findings of this review.