Proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 9 – 10, 2010 Simulation Based Decision Support System (SBDSS) for the Vehicles Repair and Maintenance in Dynamic Business Environment Arshed Mehmood Mechanical Engineering Department UET, Taxila, Pakistan Mirza Jahanzaib Mechanical Engineering Department College of Engineering, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia Abstract Maintenance support system is formed by all the needed support resources which are related and coordinated between each other to achieve certain objectives such as operational availability of the supported object during its life cycle. This paper describes the decision support system using simulation in the dynamic environment of vehicles repair and maintenance. The study illustrates a case relevant to repair and maintenance decision support system, in which different feasible scenarios has been modeled and modules developed for the analysis and improvement of the existing system. This is done by process mapping of the existing systems and modeling of the existing system in simulation language. Various feasible alternatives illuminated a pathway to significant improvements in customer service, management of work in process, resource utilization, over time and cycle time. It has been learnt that WIP and overtime are the major impediments in the system affecting the performance of the system which can be controlled by suggesting feasible alternatives. Keywords Automotive Repair Analysis, Decision Support System, Process Management, Repair and Maintenance Support System, Resource Utilization. 1. Introduction Maintenance support system is an organic combination of the whole support resources needed for maintenance support and the corresponding management in the supported object’s life cycle. It is the system formed by all the needed support resources which are related and harmonized between each other to achieve a certain aim (such as operational availability). There are peculiar requirements of maintenance support system for every set of industries. It depends upon type of machines, their working conditions, mean time between failures and many other tangible and intangible factors. An effective repair and maintenance support system should have in-built characteristics to reduce the down time of the equipment to minimum and continuous analysis for its improvement (Leo J, et la 2002). This research is about the repair and maintenance decision support system of vehicles and light trucks. Though there are many tools available for analysis of repair and maintenance support system e.g. TQM tools (Gunasekaran, P. Cecille, 1998) optimization techniques yet simulation is selected because simulation gives good insight of factors of interest (Navin. G, 2004). Moreover simulation models can be run for various alternatives. Because of many number of variable and solving of mathematical problem is quite cumbersome. The system under investigated has been engaged in the repair and maintenance business of vehicles. This workshop provides repair, replacement and maintenance service for engine system, brakes, clutch, exhaust systems, steering, suspension, air conditioning and heating vehicle systems, denting painting and body work. At this particular workshop, it had been noticed that there is significant decline in productivity, efficiency, and profitability. Moreover there is an increase in operational costs, especially labor costs. Furthermore, lengthy service and waiting times, coupled with deterioration of service quality, were affecting customer goodwill. One of the problems is high turnover rate of service personals. The layout of the given system comprises of a reception desk coupled with inspection area to determine the fault. It has three repair bays as: Minor Repair Bay: The vehicles which require a