Serial batch processing machine scheduling: a cement industry case study

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia de SistemasThis work arises in the Cement Industry in the process of scheduling the clients to the warehouse and assignment to docking bays. The goal is to solve the scheduling and assignment problem, to improve both company’s service levels and the efficiency of its resources. After the real problem analysis, it was possible to conclude that it could be solved as a batching machine scheduling problem, where the jobs are the clients to be schedule, and the machine is the warehouse. The problem can be described as max 1 | rj,s-batch | Cmax . A Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model was proposed. However, as the number of jobs increased it started having computational difficulties. To overcome the problems of the MILP model two heuristics were proposed. The first one is a Constructive Algorithm (CA) that creates a first solution for the problem. The second heuristic is a metaheuristic algorithm, based on Simulated Annealing procedures, that starts with the initial solution of the CA and through three possible moves starts constructing the neighboring solutions space. After constructing the neighboring solutions space, it returns the best solution found. The computational tests proved that both the MILP model and the heuristics can ensure both feasible and optimum solutions. However, the MILP model consumes more computational resources. For some larger instances and giving a maximum limit of computational time of 8 hours, the MILP model cannot reach the optimality, nor the good results obtained by the heuristics, for those larger instances. The machine scheduling is a good approach for scheduling the trucks to the warehouse. Since it is also an innovative approach for the problem, considering the literature studied, maybe this work will inspire others to work on this idea or, at least, serve as a basis for future researches.Este trabalho tem como cenário a Indústria Cimenteira no processo de agendamento de clientes para atendimento no armazém e atribuição de pontos de carga. O objetivo é resolver o problema de agendamento visando otimizar tanto os níveis de serviço da empresa bem como a eficiência dos seus recursos. Depois da análise detalhada do problema real foi possível concluir que este podia ser resolvido como um problema de processamento em lotes em máquina única, onde as tarefas a agendar seriam os clientes e a máquina o armazém. O problema pode então ser descrito como 1 | rj,s-batch | Cmax . Um modelo de Programação Linear Inteira Mista (PLIM) foi proposto. Contudo, à medida que o número de tarefas aumentava, o modelo começava a ter dificuldades computacionais na obtenção de solução ótima. Para ultrapassar essas dificuldades, foram desenhadas e propostas duas heurísticas. A primeira é um Algoritmo Construtivo (AC) capaz de retornar uma solução inicial. A segunda, uma meta-heurística, baseada na abordagem do Simulated Annealing, que trabalha a solução inicial gerada pelo AC, através de três movimentos possíveis, e gera uma vizinhança de soluções. Depois, procura e retorna a melhor solução possível dessa vizinhança. Os testes computacionais provaram que tanto o modelo de PLIM como as heurísticas são capazes de retornar tanto soluções possíveis como ótimas. Contudo, o modelo de PLIM consome muitos mais recursos computacionais do que as heurísticas. Para instâncias de tamanho superior, dado um tempo de computação máximo de 8 horas, o PLIM, não conseguindo atingir a solução ótima, nem sequer consegue atingir soluções tão boas como as das heurísticas. A abordagem de agendamento em máquinas, utilizada neste trabalho, mostrou-se ser uma boa abordagem para o agendamento de clientes no armazém. Para além disso, esta é uma abordagem inovadora, tendo em conta a literatura estudada, e, talvez possa inspirar outros autores a trabalhar nesta ideia ou então servir de base para pesquisas futuras

REQUIREMENT- AWARE STRATEGIES FOR SCHEDULING MULTIPLE DIVISIBLE LOADS IN CLUSTER ENVIRONMENTS

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

A fully polynomial approximation scheme for a scheduling problem with intree-type precedence delays

We investigate a single-machine scheduling problem with precedence delays that have a simple structure: the corresponding tree has k leaves and only k+2 nodes. The objective is to minimize the makespan. We present a pseudo-polynomial algorithm for this problem, and we also give a fully polynomial approximation scheme

Problèmes de mémoire et de performance de la factorisation multifrontale parallèle et de la résolution triangulaire à seconds membres creux

We consider the solution of very large sparse systems of linear equations on parallel architectures. In this context, memory is often a bottleneck that prevents or limits the use of direct solvers, especially those based on the multifrontal method. This work focuses on memory and performance issues of the two memory and computationally intensive phases of direct methods, namely, the numerical factorization and the solution phase. In the first part we consider the solution phase with sparse right-hand sides, and in the second part we consider the memory scalability of the multifrontal factorization. In the first part, we focus on the triangular solution phase with multiple sparse right-hand sides, that appear in numerous applications. We especially emphasize the computation of entries of the inverse, where both the right-hand sides and the solution are sparse. We first present several storage schemes that enable a significant compression of the solution space, both in a sequential and a parallel context. We then show that the way the right-hand sides are partitioned into blocks strongly influences the performance and we consider two different settings: the out-of-core case, where the aim is to reduce the number of accesses to the factors, that are stored on disk, and the in-core case, where the aim is to reduce the computational cost. Finally, we show how to enhance the parallel efficiency. In the second part, we consider the parallel multifrontal factorization. We show that controlling the active memory specific to the multifrontal method is critical, and that commonly used mapping techniques usually fail to do so: they cannot achieve a high memory scalability, i.e., they dramatically increase the amount of memory needed by the factorization when the number of processors increases. We propose a class of "memory-aware" mapping and scheduling algorithms that aim at maximizing performance while enforcing a user-given memory constraint and provide robust memory estimates before the factorization. These techniques have raised performance issues in the parallel dense kernels used at each step of the factorization, and we have proposed some algorithmic improvements. The ideas presented throughout this study have been implemented within the MUMPS (MUltifrontal Massively Parallel Solver) solver and experimented on large matrices (up to a few tens of millions unknowns) and massively parallel architectures (up to a few thousand cores). They have demonstrated to improve the performance and the robustness of the code, and will be available in a future release. Some of the ideas presented in the first part have also been implemented within the PDSLin (Parallel Domain decomposition Schur complement based Linear solver) package.Nous nous intéressons à la résolution de systèmes linéaires creux de très grande taille sur des machines parallèles. Dans ce contexte, la mémoire est un facteur qui limite voire empêche souvent l'utilisation de solveurs directs, notamment ceux basés sur la méthode multifrontale. Cette étude se concentre sur les problèmes de mémoire et de performance des deux phases des méthodes directes les plus coûteuses en mémoire et en temps : la factorisation numérique et la résolution triangulaire. Dans une première partie nous nous intéressons à la phase de résolution à seconds membres creux, puis, dans une seconde partie, nous nous intéressons à la scalabilité mémoire de la factorisation multifrontale. La première partie de cette étude se concentre sur la résolution triangulaire à seconds membres creux, qui apparaissent dans de nombreuses applications. En particulier, nous nous intéressons au calcul d'entrées de l'inverse d'une matrice creuse, où les seconds membres et les vecteurs solutions sont tous deux creux. Nous présentons d'abord plusieurs schémas de stockage qui permettent de réduire significativement l'espace mémoire utilisé lors de la résolution, dans le cadre d'exécutions séquentielles et parallèles. Nous montrons ensuite que la façon dont les seconds membres sont regroupés peut fortement influencer la performance et nous considérons deux cadres différents : le cas "hors-mémoire" (out-of-core) où le but est de réduire le nombre d'accès aux facteurs stockés sur disque, et le cas "en mémoire" (in-core) où le but est de réduire le nombre d'opérations. Finalement, nous montrons comment améliorer le parallélisme. Dans la seconde partie, nous nous intéressons à la factorisation multifrontale parallèle. Nous montrons tout d'abord que contrôler la mémoire active spécifique à la méthode multifrontale est crucial, et que les techniques de "répartition" (mapping) classiques ne peuvent fournir une bonne scalabilité mémoire : le coût mémoire de la factorisation augmente fortement avec le nombre de processeurs. Nous proposons une classe d'algorithmes de répartition et d'ordonnancement "conscients de la mémoire" (memory-aware) qui cherchent à maximiser la performance tout en respectant une contrainte mémoire fournie par l'utilisateur. Ces techniques ont révélé des problèmes de performances dans certains des noyaux parallèles denses utilisés à chaque étape de la factorisation, et nous avons proposé plusieurs améliorations algorithmiques. Les idées présentées tout au long de cette étude ont été implantées dans le solveur MUMPS (Solveur MUltifrontal Massivement Parallèle) et expérimentées sur des matrices de grande taille (plusieurs dizaines de millions d'inconnues) et sur des machines massivement parallèles (jusqu'à quelques milliers de coeurs). Elles ont permis d'améliorer les performances et la robustesse du code et seront disponibles dans une prochaine version. Certaines des idées présentées dans la première partie ont également été implantées dans le solveur PDSLin (solveur linéaire hybride basé sur une méthode de complément de Schur)

An investigation of changeover sensitive heuristics in an industrial job shop environment

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Sessenta anos de Shop Scheduling : uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Orientador : Prof. Dr. Cassius Tadeu ScarpinDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção. Defesa: Curitiba, 09/02/2017Inclui referências : f. 449-492Resumo: Desde o seminal artigo de Johnson em 1954, a Programação da Produção em Shop Scheduling tem se tornado uma área relevante dentro da Pesquisa Operacional e, atualmente, duzentos trabalhos tangentes à temática são publicados anualmente. Dentre os artigos aqui citados tem-se aqueles que se dedicam à apresentação e síntese do estado da arte desse assunto, intitulados artigos de revisão. Quando tais artigos são elaborados a partir de um conjunto objetivo de critérios, relativos à categorização dos artigos selecionados, tem-se a Revisão Sistemática da Literatura (RSL). O presente trabalho realiza uma RSL em Shop Scheduling, a partir da análise de cada ambiente fabril que o compõe. Fez-se o escrutínio de 560 artigos, à luz de um conjunto de métricas, que constitui a estrutura basilar da proposta de nova taxonomia do Shop Scheduling, complementar à notação de Graham, objetivo fulcral do presente trabalho. Além disso, utilizou-se uma representação em redes dos resultados obtidos em algumas das métricas empregadas, como a característica dos itens, algo outrora inaudito em estudos de revisão desse assunto. Ademais, outro ponto relevante desse estudo repousa na identificação de campos pouco explorados, de modo a colaborar com a pesquisa futura neste tomo. Palavras-chave: Shop Scheduling. Revisão Sistemática da Literatura. Taxonomia. Representação em Redes.Abstract: Since Johnson's seminal article in 1954, Shop Scheduling in Production Scheduling has become a relevant area within Operational Research, and currently hundreds of tangential works on the subject are published annually. Among the articles cited here are those dedicated to the presentation and synthesis of the state of the art of this subject, which are entitled review articles. When these articles are elaborated from an objective set of criteria, regarding the categorization of the selected articles, we have the Systematic Review of Literature (SLR). The present work performs a SLR in Shop Scheduling, based on the analysis of each manufacturing environment that composes it. There were 560 articles scrutinized based on a set of metrics, which is the basic structure of the proposed new Taxonomy of Shop Scheduling, complementary to Graham's notation, the main objective of this work. In addition to that a network representation of the results was obtained in some of the metrics used, such as the job characteristics, something previously unheard of in review studies of this subject. Moreover, another relevant point of this study lies in the identification of less explored fields in order to collaborate with future research in this matter. Keywords: Shop Scheduling. Systematic Literature Review. Taxonomy. Network Representation

Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments

This book presents the collection of fifty two papers which were presented on the First International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY ’08 - Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments, held in Ofir, Portugal, from 25th to 27th of June, 2008. The main motive of the meeting was the growing awareness of the importance of the sustainability issue. This importance had emerged from the growing uncertainty of the market behaviour that leads to the characterization of the market, i.e. environment, as turbulent. Actually, the characterization of the environment as uncertain and turbulent reflects the fact that the traditional technocratic and/or socio-technical approaches cannot effectively and efficiently lead with the present situation. In other words, the rise of the sustainability issue means the quest for new instruments to deal with uncertainty and/or turbulence. The sustainability issue has a complex nature and solutions are sought in a wide range of domains and instruments to achieve and manage it. The domains range from environmental sustainability (referring to natural environment) through organisational and business sustainability towards social sustainability. Concerning the instruments for sustainability, they range from traditional engineering and management methodologies towards “soft” instruments such as knowledge, learning, creativity. The papers in this book address virtually whole sustainability problems space in a greater or lesser extent. However, although the uncertainty and/or turbulence, or in other words the dynamic properties, come from coupling of management, technology, learning, individuals, organisations and society, meaning that everything is at the same time effect and cause, we wanted to put the emphasis on business with the intention to address primarily the companies and their businesses. From this reason, the main title of the book is “Business Sustainability” but with the approach of coupling Management, Technology and Learning for individuals, organisations and society in Turbulent Environments. Concerning the First International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, its particularity was that it had served primarily as a learning environment in which the papers published in this book were the ground for further individual and collective growth in understanding and perception of sustainability and capacity for building new instruments for business sustainability. In that respect, the methodology of the conference work was basically dialogical, meaning promoting dialog on the papers, but also including formal paper presentations. In this way, the conference presented a rich space for satisfying different authors’ and participants’ needs. Additionally, promoting the widest and global learning environment and participativeness, the Conference Organisation provided the broadcasting over Internet of the Conference sessions, dialogical and formal presentations, for all authors’ and participants’ institutions, as an innovative Conference feature. In these terms, this book could also be understood as a complementary instrument to the Conference authors’ and participants’, but also to the wider readerships’ interested in the sustainability issues. The book brought together 97 authors from 10 countries, namely from Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Sweden and United Kingdom. The authors “ranged” from senior and renowned scientists to young researchers providing a rich and learning environment. At the end, the editors hope and would like that this book will be useful, meeting the expectation of the authors and wider readership and serving for enhancing the individual and collective learning, and to incentive further scientific development and creation of new papers. Also, the editors would use this opportunity to announce the intention to continue with new editions of the conference and subsequent editions of accompanying books on the subject of BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, the second of which is planned for year 2011.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio