A cost optimisation of preventative upkeep networks using the South African Navy as a case study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African Navy (SAN) intends to reinstate Naval Station Durban(NSD) as a fully operational support base for a new class of Offshore PatrolVessels (OPV's) which the SAN intends to purchase. These acquisitions mustbe seen against the background of strategic and political considerations ingeneral, and in particular threats to South Africa's maritime security, dueto the possibility of the piracy, along particularly the West African coast,reaching our territorial waters. The aim of this thesis is the developmentof a cost-optimization model, intended to provide optimal locations for theSAN's support facilities, given the SAN's operational obligations, present andfuture. In the first part, a literary review of facility location formulation andstrategic management principles is an attempt to lay the foundations for theproposed model. The review of this literature is primarily based on extractsof the comprehensive research of other authors. Consequently, the researchproblem was contextualized and classified as a hierarchical location-allocationproblem. The second part of the thesis aims to describe the SAN's environmentfrom a maritime security perspective. Within this framework, formulationwas identified and modified to develop a theoretical mechanism to solve theresearch question. The final part will see the application of the developedmodel to a case study specific to the situation of the SAN. Validation of theinputs and the model itself proceeded in conjunction with the application ofthe model. The results and the model itself were validated through visualinspection and independent mathematical validation. This thesis comes tothe conclusion that the SAN cannot cost-effectively meet its future obligationsby splitting its maintenance capability between Naval Base Durban (NBD)and Naval Base Simon's Town (NBS). Future research may build upon theresults of this thesis in order to facilitate a more comprehensive optimizationof preventative networks.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University