U. S. - France (INRIA) Cooperative Research Improving the Efficiency of Manufacturing Systems by Integrating Production Control into Maintenance Policies

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

00070866 Fu This three-year award for U.S.-France collaboration in operations research involves Michael Fu of the University of Maryland, Xiaolan Xie and Nidhal Rezg of the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Engineering (INRIA) in Metz (Lorraine Province). The research collaboration is aimed at the development of analytical and simulation-based models that address the reliability and operational performance of certain types of manufacturing systems, in particular, semiconductor fabrication facilities. Unlike other types of manufacturing systems, the main sources of operational uncertainty in semiconductor facilities are the downtimes of machines. Thus, preventive maintenance is crucial for efficient operations. The investigators will develop theoretical models that take into account information from the state of the system in terms of production planning data or process control data. The goal is to improve operational performance and find good maintenance policy by integrating these data. This award represents the U.S. side of a joint proposal to the NSF and the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Engineering (INRIA). NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses of the U.S. investigator and graduate student. INRIA will support the French researchers' visits to the United States. The collaboration is interdisciplinary. U.S. and French teams represent expertise in manufacturing facility design, production planning, operations and systems research, and in both analytical and simulation-based models. The U.S. investigator has expertise in stochastic optimization. This is complemented by French expertise in modeling and analysis of manufacturing systems. The project could provide new models for improving profitability and reliability of semiconductor fabrication facilities.