Joint inspection problem: Formulation and algorithm

This paper examines the problem of determining the timing and frequency of inspection for n operations that form a manufacturing process. The problem is formulated as a non-linear integer program with the restriction that the frequencies are power-of-two. The restriction is very practical from an operational viewpoint and will not increase the total annual inspection cost by more than 6%. A worked example is presented to illustrate the algorithm used to solve the problem.