60,329 research outputs found
Minimisation of energy consumption variance for multi-process manufacturing lines through genetic algorithm manipulation of production schedule
Typical manufacturing scheduling algorithms do not consider the energy consumption of each job, or its variance, when they generate a production schedule. This can become problematic for manufacturers when local infrastructure has limited energy distribution capabilities. In this paper, a genetic algorithm based schedule modification algorithm is presented. By referencing energy consumption models for each job, adjustments are made to the original schedule so that it produces a minimal variance in the total energy consumption in a multi-process manufacturing production line, all while operating within the constraints of the manufacturing line and individual processes. Empirical results show a significant reduction in energy consumption variance can be achieved on schedules containing multiple concurrent jobs
Non-preemptive Scheduling in a Smart Grid Model and its Implications on Machine Minimization
We study a scheduling problem arising in demand response management in smart
grid. Consumers send in power requests with a flexible feasible time interval
during which their requests can be served. The grid controller, upon receiving
power requests, schedules each request within the specified interval. The
electricity cost is measured by a convex function of the load in each timeslot.
The objective is to schedule all requests with the minimum total electricity
cost. Previous work has studied cases where jobs have unit power requirement
and unit duration. We extend the study to arbitrary power requirement and
duration, which has been shown to be NP-hard. We give the first online
algorithm for the general problem, and prove that the problem is fixed
parameter tractable. We also show that the online algorithm is asymptotically
optimal when the objective is to minimize the peak load. In addition, we
observe that the classical non-preemptive machine minimization problem is a
special case of the smart grid problem with min-peak objective, and show that
we can solve the non-preemptive machine minimization problem asymptotically
optimally
Parameterized complexity of machine scheduling: 15 open problems
Machine scheduling problems are a long-time key domain of algorithms and
complexity research. A novel approach to machine scheduling problems are
fixed-parameter algorithms. To stimulate this thriving research direction, we
propose 15 open questions in this area whose resolution we expect to lead to
the discovery of new approaches and techniques both in scheduling and
parameterized complexity theory.Comment: Version accepted to Computers & Operations Researc
Scheduling Bidirectional Traffic on a Path
We study the fundamental problem of scheduling bidirectional traffic along a
path composed of multiple segments. The main feature of the problem is that
jobs traveling in the same direction can be scheduled in quick succession on a
segment, while jobs in opposing directions cannot cross a segment at the same
time. We show that this tradeoff makes the problem significantly harder than
the related flow shop problem, by proving that it is NP-hard even for identical
jobs. We complement this result with a PTAS for a single segment and
non-identical jobs. If we allow some pairs of jobs traveling in different
directions to cross a segment concurrently, the problem becomes APX-hard even
on a single segment and with identical jobs. We give polynomial algorithms for
the setting with restricted compatibilities between jobs on a single and any
constant number of segments, respectively
On-line planning and scheduling: an application to controlling modular printers
We present a case study of artificial intelligence techniques applied to the control of production printing equipment. Like many other real-world applications, this complex domain requires high-speed autonomous decision-making and robust continual operation. To our knowledge, this work represents the first successful industrial application of embedded domain-independent temporal planning. Our system handles execution failures and multi-objective preferences. At its heart is an on-line algorithm that combines techniques from state-space planning and partial-order scheduling. We suggest that this general architecture may prove useful in other applications as more intelligent systems operate in continual, on-line settings. Our system has been used to drive several commercial prototypes and has enabled a new product architecture for our industrial partner. When compared with state-of-the-art off-line planners, our system is hundreds of times faster and often finds better plans. Our experience demonstrates that domain-independent AI planning based on heuristic search can flexibly handle time, resources, replanning, and multiple objectives in a high-speed practical application without requiring hand-coded control knowledge
On Idle Energy Consumption Minimization in Production: Industrial Example and Mathematical Model
This paper, inspired by a real production process of steel hardening,
investigates a scheduling problem to minimize the idle energy consumption of
machines. The energy minimization is achieved by switching a machine to some
power-saving mode when it is idle. For the steel hardening process, the mode of
the machine (i.e., furnace) can be associated with its inner temperature.
Contrary to the recent methods, which consider only a small number of machine
modes, the temperature in the furnace can be changed continuously, and so an
infinite number of the power-saving modes must be considered to achieve the
highest possible savings. To model the machine modes efficiently, we use the
concept of the energy function, which was originally introduced in the domain
of embedded systems but has yet to take roots in the domain of production
research. The energy function is illustrated with several application examples
from the literature. Afterward, it is integrated into a mathematical model of a
scheduling problem with parallel identical machines and jobs characterized by
release times, deadlines, and processing times. Numerical experiments show that
the proposed model outperforms a reference model adapted from the literature.Comment: Accepted to 9th International Conference on Operations Research and
Enterprise Systems (ICORES 2020
Scheduling Jobs in Flowshops with the Introduction of Additional Machines in the Future
This is the author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/expert-systems-with-applications/.The problem of scheduling jobs to minimize total weighted tardiness in flowshops,\ud
with the possibility of evolving into hybrid flowshops in the future, is investigated in\ud
this paper. As this research is guided by a real problem in industry, the flowshop\ud
considered has considerable flexibility, which stimulated the development of an\ud
innovative methodology for this research. Each stage of the flowshop currently has\ud
one or several identical machines. However, the manufacturing company is planning\ud
to introduce additional machines with different capabilities in different stages in the\ud
near future. Thus, the algorithm proposed and developed for the problem is not only\ud
capable of solving the current flow line configuration but also the potential new\ud
configurations that may result in the future. A meta-heuristic search algorithm based\ud
on Tabu search is developed to solve this NP-hard, industry-guided problem. Six\ud
different initial solution finding mechanisms are proposed. A carefully planned\ud
nested split-plot design is performed to test the significance of different factors and\ud
their impact on the performance of the different algorithms. To the best of our\ud
knowledge, this research is the first of its kind that attempts to solve an industry-guided\ud
problem with the concern for future developments
The Lazy Bureaucrat Scheduling Problem
We introduce a new class of scheduling problems in which the optimization is
performed by the worker (single ``machine'') who performs the tasks. A typical
worker's objective is to minimize the amount of work he does (he is ``lazy''),
or more generally, to schedule as inefficiently (in some sense) as possible.
The worker is subject to the constraint that he must be busy when there is work
that he can do; we make this notion precise both in the preemptive and
nonpreemptive settings. The resulting class of ``perverse'' scheduling
problems, which we denote ``Lazy Bureaucrat Problems,'' gives rise to a rich
set of new questions that explore the distinction between maximization and
minimization in computing optimal schedules.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures, Latex. To appear, Information and Computatio
- …