Two fuzzy possibilistic bi-objective zero-one programming models for outsourcing the equipment maintenance problem

Maintenance outsourcing can be regarded as a strategic weapon to increase productivity and customer satisfaction in many companies, and this critical activity can be performed in a more efficient and effective way. This article presents two novel fuzzy possibilistic bi-objective zero-one programming (FPBOZOP) models for outsourcing of the equipment maintenance. In these models, cost parameters, including outsourcing cost, risk cost, time operations for performing the equipment maintenance and reliability level, as well as other influential parameters are considered through the outsourcing process. Moreover, the presented models can measure the capability of the company in doing different activities, unlike previous studies, in order to see the possibility of maintenance in-house, and can lead to make a best decision on the basis of the models' results. Both models are developed under uncertainty, which bring top managers the possibility of assigning more than one equipment or project to the supplier so that the profit is maximized, and the cost is minimized by considering bi-objectives concurrently. Then, a new fuzzy mathematical programming based possibilistic approach is introduced as a solution methodology from the recent literature to solve the proposed bi-objective zero-one programming (BOZOP) models and to reach a preferred compromise solution. Furthermore, a real-case study is utilized to demonstrate and to validate the effectiveness of the presented models. The computational results revealed that the models can be implemented in variety of problems in the domain of the equipment maintenance outsourcing and project outsourcing either from theory or application perspectives.