A Prognostics and Health Management Based Method for Refurbishment Decision Making for Electromechanical Systems

Refurbishing end of life electromechanical products is a value-added operation that provides both economic and environmental benefits. To maximize the benefits from refurbishing, decision making is critical, where the optimized time and the right component for manufacturing are determined. However, there has not been any satisfactory refurbishing decision-making strategy developed. In this paper, a prognostics and health management-based method is developed for refurbishment decision making. First, components are selected for in-situ monitoring using failure modes, mechanisms and effects analysis, then the remaining useful life for the system is estimated by analyzing the in-situ monitoring data so that the optimized refurbishing time can be determined. Finally, near the end of the system life, certain degraded components are selected via diagnosis, and refurbishment is carried out. The procedure of the method is evaluated by an analysis of the refurbishment of instruments in industrial process control. Using this method, the remaining useful life of electromechanical products can be optimally used, and the cost of refurbishment can be minimized.