Capacity planning in networks of queues with manufacturing applications

This paper addresses capacity planning in systems that can be modeled as a network of queues. More specifically, we present an optimization model and solution methods for the minimum cost selection of capacity at each node in the network such that a set of system performance constraints is satisfied. Capacity is controlled through the mean service rate at each node. To illustrate the approach and how queueing theory can be used to measure system performance, we discuss a manufacturing model that includes upper limits on product throughput times and work-in-process in the system. Methods for solving capacity planning problems with continuous and discrete capacity options are discussed. We focus primarily on the discrete case with a concave cost function, allowing fixed charges and costs exhibiting economies of scale with respect to capacity to be handled.     

Calendarization of time planning in MPM networks

A calendar contains working days and non-working days. How to make time planning for a project, when some activities cannot be interrupted by non-working days or in some time distances between start times of activities also non-working days count, is a problem often facing us when undertaking a project realization. In this paper an exact method to solve this problem is presented and the optimality of this method is proved.     

闭排队网络中性能势与无穷小实现因子之间的关系

In this paper,the concept of the infinitesimal realization factor is extended to the parameter-dependent performance functions in closed queueing networks. Then the concepts of realization matrix (its elements are called realization factors) and performance potential are introduced,and the relations between infinitesimal realization factors and these two quantities are discussed. This provides a united framework for both IPA and non IPA approaches. Finally,another physical meaning of the service rate is given.     

Quality of service statistics over heterogeneous networks: Analysis and applications

Heterogeneous wireless/wired networks and ubiquitous environments are gaining ever more attention by research community. To properly control and manage such puzzles a deep knowledge of quality of service parameters is needed and, therefore, a complete and robust performance assessment is necessary. This paper deals with a performance evaluation and measurement of a number of heterogeneous end-to-end paths taking into account a wide range of statistics. To study the behavior of QoS parameters, an active measurement approach has been introduced for the analysis of properties we called (i) concise statistics (mean, standard deviation, inter quantile range, minimum, maximum, and median) and (ii) detailed statistics (Probability Density Function, Auto-correlation Function, Entropy, Complementary Cumulative Distribution Function, and Bivariate Probability Density Function). We show how, thanks to this view on QoS statistics, a more complete understanding of QoS parameters behavior is possible. In addition, we show how the measured statistics can be fruitfully used in the context of network control and management. More precisely, we present two proof of concepts regarding frameworks for QoS-based anomaly detection and for QoS-based identification of network elements.     

Production planning and warehouse management in supply networks with inter-facility mold transfers

This paper, considers with the problem of production capacity and warehouse management in a supply network in which inter-plant mold transfers are enabled. The supply network has a limited number of very expensive molds which can be transferred from a plant to another making it possible for each plant to produce the entire product gamut. It is assumed that warehouses in this supply network can be activated and deactivated as required, and that material transfers from a warehouse to another are also possible. The objective is to develop a capacity and warehouse management plan that satisfies the expected market demands with the lowest possible cost. A mixed integer programming model for the problem is suggested and its properties are discussed. A linear programming-based heuristic that combines Lagrangian relaxation and linear programming duality to generate lower and upper bounds for the problem is proposed. Finally, based on a designed experiment the performance of the heuristic on a set of generated test problems is reported and discussed.     

A new approach to tactical and strategic planning in production-distribution networks

Today the most important concern of the managers is to make their firms viable in the competitive trade world. Managers are looking for effective tools for decision making in the complex business world. This paper presents a new mathematical model for strategic and tactical planning in a multiple-echelon, multiple-commodity production-distribution network. In the proposed model, different time resolutions are considered for strategic and tactical decisions. Also expansion of the network is planned based on cumulative net incomes. To illustrate applications of the proposed model as well as its performance based on the solution times, some hypothetical numerical examples have been generated and solved by CPLEX. Results show that in small and medium scale of instances, high quality solutions can be obtained using this solver, but for larger instances, some heuristics has to be designed to reduce solution time.     

Stability and performance analysis of rate-based feedback flow controlled ATM networks

Motivated by ABR class of service in ATM networks, we study a continuous time queueing system with a feedback control of the arrival rate of some of the sources. The feedback about the queue length or the total workload is provided at regular intervals (variations on it, especially the traffic management specification TM 4.0, are also considered). The propagation delays can be nonnegligible. For a general class of feedback algorithms, we obtain the stability of the system in the presence of one or more bottleneck nodes in the virtual circuit. Our system is general enough that it can be useful to study feedback control in other network protocols. We also obtain rates of convergence to the stationary distributions and finiteness of moments. For the single botterneck case, we provide algorithms to compute the stationary distributions and the moments of the sojourn times in different sets of states. We also show analytically (by showing continuity of stationary distributions and moments) that for small propagation delays, we can provide feedback algorithms which have higher mean throughput, lower probability of overflow and lower delay jitter than any open loop policy. Finally these results are supplemented by some computational results. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Gossip based asynchronous and randomized distributed task assignment with guaranteed performance on heterogeneous networks

The main contribution of this paper is a novel distributed algorithm based on asynchronous and randomized local interactions, i.e., gossip based, for task assignment on heterogeneous networks. We consider a set of tasks with heterogeneous cost to be assigned to a set of nodes with heterogeneous execution speed and interconnected by a network with unknown topology represented by an undirected graph. Our objective is to minimize the execution time of the set of tasks by the networked system. We propose a local interaction rule which allows the nodes of a network to cooperatively assign tasks among themselves with a guaranteed performance with respect to the optimal assignment exploiting a gossip based randomized interaction scheme. We first characterize the convergence properties of the proposed approach, then we propose an edge selection process and a distributed embedded stop criterion to terminate communications, not only task exchanges, while keeping the performance guarantee. Numerical simulations are finally presented to corroborate the theoretical results.     

Environmental safety stock: The impacts of regulatory and voluntary control policies on production planning,inventory control,and environmental performance

This paper analyzes the impacts of different pollution control policies on a firm’s decisions of production planning and inventory control. Based on a stochastic model with both demand and environmental uncertainties, we derive the optimal policies of production planning and inventory control under both regulatory and voluntary pollution control approaches, and investigate their operational and environmental effects. We establish that the conventional wisdom which suggests that reduction of environmental waste at the end of a production process also decreases the stock and throughput levels of a production system is not necessarily true. Rather, a regulatory environmental standard that limits the total amount of waste may induce the firm to raise its planned stock level, which would lead to a higher expected amount of environmental wastes before the standard is enforced as well as environmental risks at other stages of the production process. The additional planned stock level, which is termed “environmental safety stock,” can be reversed by using the voluntary control approach that provides the firm with the flexibility to occasionally exceed the environmental standard. We also conduct numerical experiments to analyze the effects of different values of model parameters under different control approaches. The analytical results provide new insights to the impacts of a firm’s production and inventory decisions on the natural environment as well as to the choices of pollution control approaches by decision makers in both the private and public sectors.     

Research on warehouse design and performance evaluation: A comprehensive review

This paper presents a detailed survey of the research on warehouse design, performance evaluation, practical case studies, and computational support tools. This and an earlier survey on warehouse operation provide a comprehensive review of existing academic research results in the framework of a systematic classification. Each research area within this framework is discussed, including the identification of the limits of previous research and of potential future research directions.     

Priority planning of a dynamic complex product mix: Elements for a computerized interface between delivery times and plant utilization

The priority planning process is both the management of ensuring reliability in confirming delivery times and maximizing plant capacity utilization.A framework is presented for the decision process of order planning in a business environment with a dynamic product mix consisting of both standard and non-standard products and with a limited machine capacity.The concept of a computerized interface between the priority planning process and the confirmed order file is presented.A simulation study is done to determine the relationship between different manufacturing strategies, delivery time policies and plant efficiency. The method is applied to the production of engineering plastic materials.     

Equivalences between maximum a posteriori inference in Bayesian networks and maximum expected utility computation in influence diagrams

Two important tasks in probabilistic reasoning are the computation of the maximum posterior probability of a given subset of the variables in a Bayesian network (MAP), and the computation of the maximum expected utility of a strategy in an influence diagram (MEU). Both problems are NP^PP-hard to solve, and NP-hard to approximate when the treewidth of the underlying graph is bounded. Despite the similarities, researches on both problems have largely been conducted independently, with algorithmic solutions and insights designed for one problem not (trivially) transferable to the other one. In this work, we show constructively that these two problems are equivalent in the sense that any algorithm designed for one problem can be used to solve the other with small overhead. Moreover, the reductions preserve the boundedness of treewidth. Building on the known complexity of MAP on networks whose parameters are imprecisely specified, we show how to use the reductions to characterize the complexity of MEU when the parameters are set-valued. These equivalences extend the toolbox of either problem, and shall foster new insights into their solution.     

Generalized function projective (lag, anticipated and complete) synchronization between two different complex networks with nonidentical nodes

Generalized function projective (lag, anticipated and complete) synchronization between two different complex networks with nonidentical nodes is investigated in this paper. Based on Barbalat’s lemma, some sufficient synchronization criteria are derived by applying the nonlinear feedback control. Although previous work studied function projective synchronization on complex dynamical networks, the dynamics of the nodes are coupled partially linear chaotic systems. In our work, the dynamics of the nodes of the complex networks are any chaotic systems without the limitation of the partial linearity. In addition, each network can be undirected or directed, connected or disconnected, and nodes in either network may have identical or different dynamics. The proposed strategy is applicable to almost all kinds of complex networks. Numerical simulations further verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed synchronization method. Numeric evidence shows that the synchronization rate is sensitively influenced by the feedback strength, the time delay, the network size and the network topological structure.     

Performance evaluation for general queueing networks in manufacturing systems: Characterizing the trade-off between queue time and utilization

Performance evaluation plays a key role in manufacturing system design and productivity improvement. Characterizing performance objectively is the first step. Inspired by the underlying structure of tandem queues, we have derived an approximate model to characterize the system performance. The model decomposes system queue time and variability into bottleneck and non-bottleneck parts while capturing the dependence among workstations. Compared the new model with prior approaches, the new model not only is more accurate but also requires less information. The property of manufacturing system performance is given based on the insight from the model.