Patent ID: 7856371

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for planning repairs in response to demand in a multi-level repair network, each level within the repair network comprising one or more repair locations for repairing unserviceable parts, the method comprising: accessing, by a computer, a forecasted demand for a specified quantity of serviceable parts at a specified future time at a repair location; in a first phase, for each of one or more inspected unserviceable parts at the repair location that are not repairable at the repair location: estimating, by the computer, an earliest time that a repair operation is available to begin for the part at an upstream repair location; and planning, by the computer, a move order for moving the part between the repair location and the upstream repair location such that the part is available for repair at the upstream repair location at the estimated earliest time, the move order having a start time and a delivery time; in a second phase, for each of the one or more inspected unserviceable parts at the repair location that are not repairable at the repair location: according to the forecasted demand and the earliest time estimated in the first phase, estimating, by the computer, a latest time that a repair operation is available to begin with respect to the part at the upstream repair location in order to help satisfy the forecasted demand at the repair location; and planning, by the computer, a repair order for the part at the upstream repair location at the estimated latest time, the repair order having a start time; in a third phase, for each of the one or more inspected unserviceable parts at the repair location that are not repairable at the repair location: according to the start time of the repair order planned in the second phase, re-planning, by the computer, the move order by modifying the delivery time of the move order according to the start time of the repair order and modifying the start time of the move order according to the modified delivery time of the move order; the start time of the re-planned move order being an estimated latest time that the part is available to be moved from the repair location to the upstream repair location for repair in order to help satisfy the forecasted demand at the repair location.