New developments in Competing risks

How can we better maintain industrial sites and systems? Yann Dijoux believes the solution lies in theoretical models. “Until recently, industrial actors have not had appropriate models for frequently observed on-site situations,” he says. “By devising mathematical models for maintenance actions, I am giving decision-makers a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms so they can improve policy.” His models of degradation, maintenance and crew responsiveness make it possible to evaluate a system’s wear and maintenance quality with nothing more than a data set and an expert opinion. International companies such as French utility EDF have successfully used Dijoux’s methods, but his work is far from finished: “Eventually, I hope to extend my findings beyond technology applications to fields such as risk management and finance.”
My research focuses on contributing to a theoretical foundation for the otherwise often purely empirical treatment for maintenance of technical systems. By devising mathematical models for maintenance actions and the decisions to take such actions, one is able to obtain better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and hence to take better decisions.