Maintenance planning system and method

• US 20020049563A1
• Filed: 10/11/2001
• Published: 04/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ABB Research Ltd. (ABB Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ABB Research Ltd. (ABB Ltd.)
• Inventors: Vetter, Claus, Werner, Thomas, Kostic, Tatjana
• Application Number:
  US09/973,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20020049563A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/184
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/024 in which a parameter or coefficient is automatically adjusted to optimise the performance
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32234 Maintenance planning
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0283 Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06

Abstract

In a method and system for maintenance planning for a technical system, where the technical system (10) comprises a plurality of substations (1), each of which comprises a plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6) and the method determines a maintenance schedule that specifies when each of the plurality of substations (1) and devices (2,3,4,5,6) should be involved in a maintenance task, the method comprises the steps of

a) determining functional dependencies among substations (1) and/or devices (2,3,4,5,6), and

b) coordinating maintenance tasks by determining the maintenance schedule such that it minimizes a cost function that comprises costs representing at least one time period during which at least a part of the technical system (10) is inoperable due to maintenance activities, and where said costs are determined according to the functional dependencies.

Claims

1. Method for maintenance planning for a technical system (10), where the technical system comprises a plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6 ) and the method determines a maintenance schedule that specifies when each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6) should be involved in a maintenance task,

characterized in that the method comprises the steps of

a) determining functional dependencies between the devices (2,3,4,5,6), and

b) coordinating maintenance tasks by determining the maintenance schedule such that it minimizes a cost function that comprises costs representing at least one time period during which at least a part of the technical system (10) is inoperable due to maintenance activities, and where said costs are determined according to the functional dependencies.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the cost function comprises, for each of the each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6), maintenance costs, expected costs due to failure of the device (2, 3,4,5,6), and costs representing a duration during which the device (2, 3,4,5,6) is inoperable.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of

a) determining a first maintenance schedule that, for each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6), specifies when each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6) should be involved in a maintenance task,

b) analyzing functional dependencies between the devices (2,3,4,5,6), and

c) coordinating maintenance tasks by determining a second maintenance schedule such that it reduces, with respect to the first maintenance schedule, a total time during which at least a part of the technical system (10) is inoperable due to maintenance activities, and where said total time is determined according to the functional dependencies.

4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the first maintenance schedule is determined by minimizing, individually for each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6), a device cost function of the device (2,3,4,5,6) that comprises maintenance costs and expected costs due to failure of the device (2,3,4,5,6).

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the second maintenance schedule is determined by minimizing a system cost function that comprises, for each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6), the device cost function and a cost function representing a duration during which the device (2,3,4,5,6) is inoperable.

6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the method further comprises the step of

d) displaying a visual representation of the first and second maintenance schedule to a user.

7. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the technical system (10) is an electric power network, comprising substations (1) which in turn comprise devices (23,4,5,6), and that the functional dependencies between the devices (2,3,4,5,6) are derived from a topological model of both the network (10) and the substations (1).

8. Maintenance planning system for a technical system, where the technical system comprises a plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6) and the maintenance planning system comprises means for determining a maintenance schedule that specifies when each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6) should be involved in a maintenance task,

characterized in that the maintenance planning system comprises

a) means for analyzing functional dependencies between the devices (2,3,4,5,6), and

b) means for coordinating maintenance tasks and determining the maintenance schedule that minimizes a cost function that comprises costs representing at least one time period during which at least a part of the technical system (10) is inoperable due to maintenance activities, and where said costs are determined according to the functional dependencies.

9. System according to claim 8, characterized in that the cost function comprises, for each of the each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6), maintenance costs, expected costs due to failure of the device (2,3,4,5,6), and costs representing a duration during which the device (2,3,4,5,6) is inoperable.

10. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, having thereon:

computer program code means to make, when said program is loaded in a computer, the computer execute a procedure to perform maintenance planning for a technical system (10), where the technical system comprises a plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6) and the procedure determines a maintenance schedule that specifies when each of the plurality of devices (2,3,4,5,6) should be involved in a maintenance task,

characterized in that the procedure performs the steps of

a) determining functional dependencies between the devices (2,3,4,5,6), and

b) coordinating maintenance tasks by determining the maintenance schedule such that it minimizes a cost function that comprises costs representing at least one time period during which at least a part of the technical system (10) is inoperable due to maintenance activities, and where the procedure determines said costs according to the functional dependencies.