A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach for Multi-Head Beam-Type Placement Machines

This paper addresses a highly challenging scheduling problem in the field of printed circuit board (PCB) assembly systems using Surface Mounting Devices (SMD). After describing some challenging optimization sub-problems relating to the heads of multi-head surface mounting placement machines, we formulate an integrated multi-objective mathematical model considering of two main sub-problems simultaneously. The proposed model is a mixed integer nonlinear programming one which is very complex to be solved optimally. Therefore, it is first converted into a linearized model and then solved using an efficient multi-objective approach, i.e., the augmented epsilon constraint method. An illustrative example is also provided to show the usefulness and applicability of the proposed model and solution method.PCB assembly. Multi-head beam-type placement machine. Multi-objective mathematical programming. Augmented epsilon-constraint method

A Parallelizable Heuristic for Solving the Generic Materials and Operations Planning in a Supply Chain Network: A Case Study from the Automotive Industry

[EN] A trend in up-to date developments in multi-site operations planning models is to consider in details the different ways to produce, buy or transport products and the distributed decision-making process for operations planning. One of the most generic approaches to support global optimization in those supply chain networks by considering all the different operations alternatives and product structures is the Generic Materials & Operations Planning Problem. This problem can be modelled by a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model capable of considering production, transportation, procurement tasks and their alternatives and other relevant issues such as packaging. The aim of this paper is to introduce the implementation of a parallelizable heuristic method for materials and operations planning and its application to a case of a Supply Chain Network of the automotive industry. The approach uses variants of the GMOP model to overcome traditional MRP systems' limitations.Maheut ., JP.; García Sabater, JP. (2013). A Parallelizable Heuristic for Solving the Generic Materials and Operations Planning in a Supply Chain Network: A Case Study from the Automotive Industry. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. 397:151-157. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40352-1_20S151157397Maheut, J., Garcia-Sabater, J.P.: La Matriz de Operaciones y Materiales y la Matriz de Operaciones y Recursos, un nuevo enfoque para resolver el problema GMOP basado en el concepto del Stroke. Dirección y Organización 45, 46–57 (2011)Garcia-Sabater, J.P., Maheut, J., Marin-Garcia, J.A.: A new formulation technique to model Materials and Operations Planning: the Generic Materials and Operations Planning (GMOP) Problem. European J. Industrial Engineering 7, 119–147 (2013)Mula, J., Maheut, J., Garcia-Sabater, J.P.: Supply Chain Network Design. Journal of Marketing and Operations Management Research 1, 378–383 (2012)Dudek, G., Stadtler, H.: Negotiation-based collaborative planning between supply chains partners. European Journal of Operational Research 163, 668–687 (2005)Torabi, S.A., Hassini, E.: Multi-site production planning integrating procurement and distribution plans in multi-echelon supply chains: an interactive fuzzy goal programming approach. International Journal of Production Research 47, 5475–5499 (2009)Kanyalkar, A.P., Adil, G.K.: Aggregate and detailed production planning integrating procurement and distribution plans in a multi-site environment. International Journal of Production Research 45, 5329–5353 (2007)de Kok, T.G., Fransoo, J.C.: Planning Supply Chain Operations: Definition and Comparison of Planning Concepts. In: Graves, S.C. (ed.) Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science Supply Chain Management: Design, Coordination and Operation, vol. 11, pp. 597–675. Elsevier (2003)Buschkühl, L., Sahling, F., Helber, S., Tempelmeier, H.: Dynamic capacitated lot-sizing problems: a classification and review of solution approaches. OR Spectrum (2009)Maheut, J., Garcia-Sabater, J.P., Mula, J.: A supply Chain Operations Lot-Sizing and Scheduling Model with Alternative Operations. In: Sethi, S.P., Bogataj, M., Ros-McDonnell, L. (eds.) Proceedings of the Industrial Engineering: Innovative Networks, 5th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management "CIO 2011", Cartagena, Spain, pp. 309–316. Springer, London (2012)Garcia-Sabater, J.P., Maheut, J., Garcia-Sabater, J.J.: A two-stage sequential planning scheme for integrated operations planning and scheduling system using MILP: the case of an engine assembler. Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal 24, 171–209 (2012)Pinto, J.M., Chen, P., Papageorgiou, L.G.: A discrete/continuous time MILP model for medium term planning of single stage multiproduct plants, pp. 1–6. Elsevier, B.V. (2007)Scheer, A.W.: Business Process Engineering - Reference Models for Industrial Enterprises. Springer (1994)Lin, J.T., Chen, T.L., Lin, Y.T.: Critical material planning for TFT-LCD production industry. International Journal of Production Economics 122, 639–655 (2009)Escudero, L.F.: CMIT, capacitated multi-level implosion tool. European Journal of Operational Research 76, 511–528 (1994)Maheut, J., Garcia-Sabater, J.P., Valero-Herrero, M.: MILP model for solving the supply chain operations scheduling problem with alternative operations considering delay penalization: a case study of a mass customization company. In: Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Computers & Industrial Engineering, pp. 289–294 (2011

An all-solid-state laser source at 671 nm for cold atom experiments with lithium

We present an all solid-state narrow line-width laser source emitting $670\,\mathrm{mW}$ output power at $671\,\mathrm{nm}$ delivered in a diffraction-limited beam. The \linebreak source is based on a fre-quency-doubled diode-end-linebreak pumped ring laser operating on the ${^4F}_{3/2} \rightarrow {^4I}_{13/2}$ transition in Nd:YVO$_4$. By using periodically-poled po-tassium titanyl phosphate (ppKTP) in an external build-up cavity, doubling efficiencies of up to 86% are obtained. Tunability of the source over $100\,\rm GHz$ is accomplished. We demonstrate the suitability of this robust frequency-stabilized light source for laser cooling of lithium atoms. Finally a simplified design based on intra-cavity doubling is described and first results are presented

First-dose ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccines and thrombocytopenic, thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events in Scotland

Reports of ChAdOx1 vaccine–associated thrombocytopenia and vascular adverse events have led to some countries restricting its use. Using a national prospective cohort, we estimated associations between exposure to first-dose ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2 vaccination and hematological and vascular adverse events using a nested incident-matched case-control study and a confirmatory self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis. An association was found between ChAdOx1 vaccination and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (0–27 d after vaccination; adjusted rate ratio (aRR) = 5.77, 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.41–13.83), with an estimated incidence of 1.13 (0.62–1.63) cases per 100,000 doses. An SCCS analysis confirmed that this was unlikely due to bias (RR = 1.98 (1.29–3.02)). There was also an increased risk for arterial thromboembolic events (aRR = 1.22, 1.12–1.34) 0–27 d after vaccination, with an SCCS RR of 0.97 (0.93–1.02). For hemorrhagic events 0–27 d after vaccination, the aRR was 1.48 (1.12–1.96), with an SCCS RR of 0.95 (0.82–1.11). A first dose of ChAdOx1 was found to be associated with small increased risks of ITP, with suggestive evidence of an increased risk of arterial thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events. The attenuation of effect found in the SCCS analysis means that there is the potential for overestimation of the reported results, which might indicate the presence of some residual confounding or confounding by indication. Public health authorities should inform their jurisdictions of these relatively small increased risks associated with ChAdOx1. No positive associations were seen between BNT162b2 and thrombocytopenic, thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events

A fuzzy goal programming approach for mid-term assortment planning in supermarkets

We develop a fuzzy mixed integer non-linear goal programming model for the mid-term assortment planning of supermarkets in which three conflicting objectives namely profitability, customer service, and space utilization are incorporated. The items and brands in a supermarket compete to obtain more space and better shelf level. This model offers different service levels to loyal and disloyal customers, applies joint replenishment policy, and accounts for the holding time limitation of perishable items. We propose a fuzzy approach due to the imprecise nature of the goals' target levels and priorities as well as critical data. A heuristic method inspiring by the problem-specific rules is developed to solve this complex model approximately within a reasonable time. Finally, the proposed approach is validated through several numerical examples and results are reported.Assortment planning Retailing Fuzzy goal programming

A common weight MCDA-DEA approach to construct composite indicators

A common weight multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA)-data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach is proposed to construct composite indicators (CIs). The proposed MCDA-DEA model enables the construction of CIs among all entities via a set of common weights. The model is capable to discriminate entities which receive CI score of 1, i.e., the efficient entities leading to determination of a single best entity. Common weights structure of the proposed model has more discriminating power when compared to those obtained by previous DEA-like models. In order to validate the proposed MCDA-DEA model, it is applied to two case studies taken from the literature to construct two well-known CIs, i.e., Sustainable Energy Index (SEI) and Human Development Index (HDI). Both the robustness and discriminating power of the proposed method are studied through these case studies and tested by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The results reveal several merits of the proposed method in constructing CIs.Composite indicators Data envelopment analysis Common weights Multi criteria decision analysis

A new optimization approach for nozzle selection and component allocation in multi-head beam-type SMD placement machines

This paper addresses a highly challenging scheduling problem faced in multi-head beam-type surface mounting devices (SMD) machines. An integrated mathematical model is formulated aiming to balance workloads over multiple heads as well as improving the traveling speed of the robotic arm by incorporating the appropriateness factors in the model to evaluate the compatibility of component-nozzle pairs. The proposed model is a bi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming one, which is first converted into a linearized model and then directly solved by using the augmented epsilon constraint method for small problem instances. As the model is turned out to be NP-hard, we also develop a Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) algorithm to solve the model for medium and large-sized problem instances. The parameters of the proposed MOPSO are tuned by using the Taguchi Method and corresponding numerical results are provided

A De Novo programming approach for a robust closed-loop supply chain network design under uncertainty: An M/M/1 queueing model

This paper considers the capacity determination in a closed-loop supply chain network when a queueing system is established in the reverse flow. Since the queueing system imposes costs on the model, the decision maker faces the challenge of determining the capacity of facilities in such a way that a compromise between the queueing costs and the fixed costs of opening new facilities could be obtained. We develop a De Novo programming approach to determine the capacity of recovery facilities in the reverse flow. To this aim, a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model is integrated with the De Novo programming and the robust counterpart of this model is proposed to cope with the uncertainty of the parameters. To solve the model, an interactive fuzzy programming approach is combined with the hard worst case robust programming. Numerical results show the performance of the developed model in determining the capacity of facilities