JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND doi:10.3934/jimo.2018146 MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION APPLICATION OF THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING TO INCREASE THE EQUIPMENT RELIABILITY: CASE STUDY- BAG FILTERS IN CEMENT FACTORY Masoud Ebrahimi, Seyyed Mohammad Taghi Fatemi Ghomi * and Behrooz Karimi Department of Industrial Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology 424 Hafez Avenue, 15916-34311, Tehran, Iran (Communicated by Stefan Wolfgang Pickl) Abstract. This paper solves a new model of preventive maintenance sched- uling with novel methodology. The aim of solving this problem is to determine the period for which bag filter should be taken off line for planned preventive maintenance over a specific time horizon and maintain a certain level of relia- bility with minimal maintenance cost. A mathematical programming method (Benders’ decomposition) and a metaheuristic algorithm are presented to pro- vide solutions. The obtained objective value from Benders’ decomposition method is considered as the stopping criterion in the metaheuristic algorithm. To demonstrate the significance and originality of the proposed model and the efficiency of the algorithms, computational analysis is provided to realistic bag filters system in the cement factory. The obtained result is a schedule that al- lows the cement factory to consider the preventive maintenance for bag filters over the time horizon. 1. Introduction. Preventive maintenance scheduling (PMS) is one of the research areas has attracted much attention over the past decades. The main objective of PMS is optimizing the system reliability and reducing the maintenance cost of the entire system. Keeping equipment in good condition through preventive mainte- nance (PM) can ensure a system with high reliability. PM is: regular and systematic inspection, cleaning, and replacement of worn parts, materials, and systems. In or- der to attain constant system functioning, it is necessary to be aware when a system is exposed to failure or when it requires servicing. This PM will enable these faults to be forestalled before failure occurs. The maintenance scheduling literature has a variety of application. These diverse applications include aircraft maintenance, cement industry, vehicle fleet maintenance, railway track maintenance, power gen- eration, pavement maintenance, highway maintenance, refinery, and production fa- cilities. Cement factory emissions into air, cause serious air pollution and affect the plant and animal life. Also the air pollution has become a major threat to the survival of plants in the industrial areas. The main sources of dust emissions in the cement industry are kilns, raw material and clinker mills. Depending on the type of 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary: 58F15, 58F17; Secondary: 53C35. Key words and phrases. Preventive maintenance, reliability, optimization, mathematical pro- gramming, metaheuristic algorithm. * S. M. T. Fatemi Ghomi: Fatemi@aut.ac.ir. 1