Optimal intensity control of a multi-class queue

We study a mixed problem of optimal scheduling and input and output control of a single server queue with multi-classes of customers. The model extends the classical optimal scheduling problem by allowing the general point processes as the arrival and departure processes and the control of the arrival and departure intensities. The objective of our scheduling and control problem is to minimize the expected discounted inventory cost over an infinite horizon, and the problem is formulated as an intensity control. We find the well-knownc is the optimal solution to our problem.Supported in part by NSF under grant ECS-8658157, by ONR under contract N00014-84-K-0465, and by a grant from AT&T Bell Laboratories.The work was done while the author was a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.     

Minimum concave cost production system: A further generalization of multi-echelon model

We will consider a concave minimization problem associated with a series production system in which raw material is processed inm consecutive facilities. The products at some facility are either sent to the next facility or stocked in the warehouse. The amount of demand for the final products during periodi, i = 1,,n, are known in advance. Our problem is to minimize the sum of processing, holding and backlogging cost, all of which are assumed to be concave.The origin of this model is the classical economic lot size problem of Wagner and Whitin and was extensively studied by Zangwill. This model is very important from the theoretical as well as practical point of view and this is one of the very rare instances in which polynomial time algorithm has been constructed for concave minimization problems.The purpose of this paper is to extend the model further to the situation in which time lag is associated with processing at each facility. We will propose an efficient O(n ⁴ m) algorithm for this class of problems.     

Schedule-an expert-like system for machine scheduling

The construction of an expert-like system for machine scheduling called SCHEDULE is presented. Essential parts of SCHEDULE were developed by students in a laboratory course Operations Research on Microcomputers at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. SCHEDULE consists of the components data base, knowledge base, inference engine, explanation facility, dialog component, and knowledge acquisition component. The knowledge base contains an algorithm base for solving different types of scheduling problems. To establish the rules of the knowledge base the well-known three-field classification of deterministic machine scheduling problems and the concept of the reduction digraph are exploited. Experiences gained during building and demonstrating SCHEDULE are reported.     

Complexity of flow time minimization in a crossdock truck scheduling problem with asymmetric handover relations

We address a novel truck scheduling problem arising in crossdocking logistics, in which inbound trucks carry items (pallets) which must be sorted and loaded onto outbound trucks. We minimize the utilisation of the warehouse by focusing on the synchronisation between the different related trucks. The problem is to assign the trucks to the doors of the warehouse and sequence them, in order to minimize the total time spent in the system by the pallets. We discuss the complexity of the problem, showing that even with a single door the problem is NP-hard in general, and discuss some special cases.     

线型/圈型网络上单台车辆分群调度问题

本文研究线型/圈型网络上单台车辆分群调度问题。给定一个线型/圈型网络,若干客户分布其中。所有客户被划分成若干个子集,每个子集称为一个群。每个客户有一个释放时间和一个服务时间。给定一台车辆,其需要服务所有客户,且每个群内的客户连续服务。问题的要求是计算一个时间表,使得车辆能够按要求服务完所有客户并返回初始出发位置所花费的时间最少。针对该问题,就线型网络和圈型网络,分别给出一个7/4和一个13/7近似算法。     

两台自私型机器上自私工件排序的PoA紧界

本文研究了两台自私型机器上有自私型工件的关于二元均衡的排序问题。对任意工件序列$L$, 证明了二元均衡排序的PoA的紧界为$\frac{8}{7}$。如果工件尺寸在区间$[1, r](r\ge1)$内, 得到了二元均衡排序的PoA的紧界为关于$r$的分段线性函数。     

“限时服务规则”下的复线船闸多目标调度优化

针对现有船舶过闸排队规则的欠缺,基于“限时服务规则”,构建复线船闸多目标双层优化调度模型:上层模型用于获得两个闸室安全区域的船舶排布可行方案;下层模型用于获得不同船舶排布可行方案的优化闸次数。下层模型分两个阶段完成:对符合“限时服务规则”的船舶,构建以闸次最少为目标的0-1规划模型,获得此类船舶安排的闸次;对其余船舶按照“先到先服务规则”,构建以闸次最少、闸室利用率最大为目标的多目标决策模型,获得不同船舶排布可行方案应该安排的频次。以位于江苏省干线航道上的某复线船闸某日24小时内过闸船舶的数据为例,计算结果表明:采用本文优化模型获得的优化方案与“经验编排方式”相比,两座船闸各节约2个闸次,两个船闸的平均闸室利用率分别提高了3.66和4.72个百分点。     

Single machine group scheduling with ordered criteria

The single machine group scheduling problem is considered. Jobs are classified into several groups on the basis of group technology, i.e. jobs of the same group have to be processed jointly. A machine set-up time independent of the group sequence is needed between each two consecutive groups. A schedule specifies the sequence of groups and the sequence of jobs in each group. The quality of a schedule is measured by the criteriaF ₁, ...,F _m ordered by their relative importance. The objective is to minimize the least important criterionF _m subject to the schedule being optimal with respect to the more important criterionF _m–1 which is minimized on the set of schedules minimizing criterionF _m–2 and so on. The most important criterion isF ₁, which is minimized on the set of all feasible schedules. An approach to solve this multicriterion problem in polynomial time is presented if functionsF ₁, ...,F _m have special properties. The total weighted completion time and the total weighted exponential time are the examples of functionsF ₁, ...,F _m–1 and the maximum cost is an example of functionF _m for which our approach can be applied.The research of the authors was partially supported by a KBN Grant No. 3 P 406 003 05, the Fundamental Research Fund of Belarus, Project N 60-242, and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Project Schema, respectively. The paper was completed while the first author was visiting the University of Melbourne.     

Measurement scheduling for recursive team estimation

We consider a decentralized LQG measurement scheduling problem in which every measurement is costly, no communication between observers is permitted, and the observers' estimation errors are coupled quadratically. This setup, motivated by considerations from organization theory, models measurement scheduling problems in which cost, bandwidth, or security constraints necessitate that estimates be decentralized, although their errors are coupled. We show that, unlike the centralized case, in the decentralized case the problem of optimizing the time integral of the measurement cost and the quadratic estimation error is fundamentally stochastic, and we characterize the -optimal open-loop schedules as chattering solutions of a deterministic Lagrange optimal control problem. Using a numerical example, we describe also how this deterministic optimal control problem can be solved by nonlinear programming.This research was supported in part by ARPA Grant N00174-91-C-0116 and NSF Grant NCR-92-04419.     

Operation and preventive maintenance scheduling for containerships: Mathematical model and solution algorithm

This paper considers the problem of determining operation and maintenance schedules for a containership equipped with various subsystems during its sailing according to a pre-determined navigation schedule. The operation schedule, which specifies working time of each subsystem, determines the due-date of each maintenance activity and the maintenance schedule specifies the actual start time of each maintenance activity. The main constraints are subsystem requirements, workforce availability, working time limitation, and inter-maintenance time. To represent the problem mathematically, a mixed integer programming model is developed. Then, due to the complexity of the problem, we suggest a heuristic algorithm that minimizes the sum of earliness and tardiness between the due-date and the actual start time for each maintenance activity. Computational experiments were done on various test instances and the results are reported. In particular, a case study was done on a real instance and a significant amount of improvement is reported over the experience based conventional method.