Metaheuristics for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Loading Constraints

We consider a combination of the capacitated vehicle routing problem and a class of additional loading constraints involving a parallel machine scheduling problem. The work is motivated by a real-world transportation problem occurring to a wood-products retailer, which delivers its products to a number of customers in a specific region. We solve the problem by means of two different metaheuristics algorithms: a Tabu Search and an Ant Colony Optimization. Extensive computational results are given for both algorithms, on instances derived from the vehicle routing literature and on real-world instances

A linear programming model for workload planning in printed circuit board assembly

The problem of workload planning that we studied in our paper arose at a company producing a high mix of printed circuit boards, each in a relatively low volume. Specifically, the workload planning problem is that of selecting the daily mix of production orders from the set of feasible jobs and assigning the corresponding set of electronic components to the various assembly machines. To support this decision problem, a mixed-integer linear programming model is developed. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: RA 3077(14) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

How to choose: Prioritizing the removal of fish passage barriers

The current paper will survey how things have changed over nearly 50 years of OR applied to agriculture. The first ‘OR group’ was set up at the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering by Dan Boyce in 1969 and is now at Cranfield University. The current paper will examine how, and what, factors have influenced the type of work and the methods used. What applications have stood the test of time and what are just distant memories in paper publications

Computersimulation der Einlastungs- und Ablaufplanung in einem hochautomatisierten System zur Bestueckung von Leiterplatten Dokumentation des Versuchslabors

This research report documents the use of an experimental environment to simulate material flows and work orders in printed circuit board assembly. In particular the underlying data structures are presented and the procedure for executing different simulation experiments is reported. The simulation model, which is implemented in SIMAN IV will be used as an integral part in a decision support system for workload planning and scheduling of printed circuit boards. (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: RA 3077(19) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman