Determining quality inspection frequency in an automated production line based on field failure data analysis

We perform a statistical analysis of failure data of equipment obtained from a real automated pizza production line. Based on these data, we develop and solve a simple model of a quality inspector who visits several such lines to detect possible quality problems in the production process. His objective is to allocate the number of his visits to the different workstations of the lines so as to minimize the total production time of undetected, defective products.