A Proposed eFSR Blockchain System for Optimal Planning of Facility Services with Probabilistic Arrivals and Stochastic Service Durations

This research developed a framework for electronic planning and management of facility services utilizing blockchain technology. In this framework, an electronic Facility Service Record (eFSR) in blockchain form was developed to manage and control service orders received by its main service center from university facilities via an electronic system. Mathematical models were formulated to determine the optimal schedule and sequence of facility services under probabilistic service order arrivals and stochastic service durations. Each task of a facility service is treated as a block. The scheduling model then assigned blocks (service tasks) to skilled technicians on each scheduling period at a minimal total cost of delay, undertime, and overtime costs, while the sequencing model determined the start and finish times of each block during the planning period. The optimal information of blocks was then confirmed and shared through an electronic network among all relevant facilities and the service center. The developed framework was implemented in university facilities to plan and manage 47 service orders for a total of 140 tasks over a period of twelve days. The results showed that the proposed eFSR is effective in managing optimal service tasks and efficient in improving the utilization and performance of the service center resources. In conclusion, the proposed eFSR with the optimal facility service planning provides real-time assistance and decentralized technology to facilities managers when planning service tasks over multiple periods. These advantages will result in the effective management of facilities and a considerable savings in maintenance resources.

This creative work has been published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license which allows copying, and redistribution as well as adaptation of the original work provided appropriate credit is given to the original author and the conditions of the license are met.