Recently, the problem of multitasking scheduling has raised a lot of interest in the service industries. Hall et al. (Discrete Applied Mathematics, 2016) proposed a shared processing multitasking scheduling model which allows a team to continue to work on the primary tasks while processing the routinely scheduled activities as they occur. With a team being modeled as a single machine, the processing sharing of the machine is achieved by allocating a fraction of the processing capacity to routine jobs and the remaining fraction, which we denote as sharing ratio, to the primary jobs. In this paper, we generalize this model to parallel machines and allow the fraction of the processing capacity assigned to routine jobs to vary from one to another. The objectives are minimizing makespan and minimizing the total completion time of primary jobs. We show that for both objectives, there is no polynomial time approximation algorithm unless P=NP if the sharing ratios are arbitrary for all machines. Then we consider the problems where the sharing ratios on some machines have a constant lower bound. For each objective, we analyze the performance of the classical scheduling algorithms and their variations and then develop a polynomial time approximation scheme when the number of machines is a constant.
{"title":"Multitasking scheduling with shared processing","authors":"Bin Fu, Yumei Huo, Hairong Zhao","doi":"10.1002/nav.22167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nav.22167","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, the problem of multitasking scheduling has raised a lot of interest in the service industries. Hall et al. (Discrete Applied Mathematics, 2016) proposed a shared processing multitasking scheduling model which allows a team to continue to work on the primary tasks while processing the routinely scheduled activities as they occur. With a team being modeled as a single machine, the processing sharing of the machine is achieved by allocating a fraction of the processing capacity to routine jobs and the remaining fraction, which we denote as sharing ratio, to the primary jobs. In this paper, we generalize this model to parallel machines and allow the fraction of the processing capacity assigned to routine jobs to vary from one to another. The objectives are minimizing makespan and minimizing the total completion time of primary jobs. We show that for both objectives, there is no polynomial time approximation algorithm unless P=NP if the sharing ratios are arbitrary for all machines. Then we consider the problems where the sharing ratios on some machines have a constant lower bound. For each objective, we analyze the performance of the classical scheduling algorithms and their variations and then develop a polynomial time approximation scheme when the number of machines is a constant.","PeriodicalId":49772,"journal":{"name":"Naval Research Logistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138580342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Motivated by mounting pressures to achieve environmental sustainability, and the emergence of online waste exchange platforms, in this work we propose an optimization-based framework for studying waste-to-resource formation in the industry. We first develop a linear programming market clearing model comprising self-interested agents participating in waste-to-resource trading. We then embed this in a bi-level capacity optimization problem under uncertainties in the agents' reserve prices, the goal of which is to maximize the economic savings achieved by waste-to-resource. We show that the resulting robust optimization models admit linear mixed integer programming formulations that can be readily computed using available solvers. Furthermore, we provide the formulas for applying an equitable levy and incentive scheme, to enable capacity cost-sharing among the agents. Numerical studies based on a case of organic waste streams demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed models in generating valuable insights for decision support in the design of waste-to-resource markets.
{"title":"Towards a circular economy with waste-to-resource system optimization","authors":"Tsan Sheng Adam Ng, Angel Xin Yee Mah, Kena Zhao","doi":"10.1002/nav.22163","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nav.22163","url":null,"abstract":"Motivated by mounting pressures to achieve environmental sustainability, and the emergence of online waste exchange platforms, in this work we propose an optimization-based framework for studying waste-to-resource formation in the industry. We first develop a linear programming market clearing model comprising self-interested agents participating in waste-to-resource trading. We then embed this in a bi-level capacity optimization problem under uncertainties in the agents' reserve prices, the goal of which is to maximize the economic savings achieved by waste-to-resource. We show that the resulting robust optimization models admit linear mixed integer programming formulations that can be readily computed using available solvers. Furthermore, we provide the formulas for applying an equitable levy and incentive scheme, to enable capacity cost-sharing among the agents. Numerical studies based on a case of organic waste streams demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed models in generating valuable insights for decision support in the design of waste-to-resource markets.","PeriodicalId":49772,"journal":{"name":"Naval Research Logistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138506705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ran Chen, René De Koster, Yugang Yu, Xiaolong Guo, Hu Yu
Autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval systems have greatly increased in popularity in the last decade. In such a system, at each tier multiple roaming vehicles transport totes between the storage locations and the lifts. However, this may lead to vehicle interference. We study in which order and by which vehicle the storage and retrieval requests should be executed to minimize the makespan, without vehicle interference. The optimal storage locations for incoming totes are also determined. A blocking mitigation protocol is proposed to address vehicle interference. We propose a two-phase matheuristic, where in the first phase, the tier is divided into zones, with each zone assigned its own vehicle. The second phase focuses on reassigning requests between adjacent vehicles to obtain improved solutions. The models proposed in both phases are solved to optimality in polynomial time and pseudo-polynomial time, respectively. Computational experiments show that the matheuristic produces high-quality solutions within a few seconds, even for large-sized instances, making it suitable for real-time decisions. Compared to methods commonly used in practice, our matheuristic can reduce the makespan by up to 15%. Our results show that making integrated decisions that combine storage assignment and request scheduling, is more beneficial than sequential optimization in terms of throughput performance, space utilization and overall system cost. We also find that increasing the number of vehicles has a diminishing return effect on the makespan. Another finding is that the system with a large number of short storage aisles leads to higher throughput capacity than that with a small number of long storage aisles.
{"title":"Blockage-free storage assignment and storage/retrieval scheduling in autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval systems","authors":"Ran Chen, René De Koster, Yugang Yu, Xiaolong Guo, Hu Yu","doi":"10.1002/nav.22166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nav.22166","url":null,"abstract":"Autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval systems have greatly increased in popularity in the last decade. In such a system, at each tier multiple roaming vehicles transport totes between the storage locations and the lifts. However, this may lead to vehicle interference. We study in which order and by which vehicle the storage and retrieval requests should be executed to minimize the makespan, without vehicle interference. The optimal storage locations for incoming totes are also determined. A blocking mitigation protocol is proposed to address vehicle interference. We propose a two-phase matheuristic, where in the first phase, the tier is divided into zones, with each zone assigned its own vehicle. The second phase focuses on reassigning requests between adjacent vehicles to obtain improved solutions. The models proposed in both phases are solved to optimality in polynomial time and pseudo-polynomial time, respectively. Computational experiments show that the matheuristic produces high-quality solutions within a few seconds, even for large-sized instances, making it suitable for real-time decisions. Compared to methods commonly used in practice, our matheuristic can reduce the makespan by up to 15%. Our results show that making integrated decisions that combine storage assignment and request scheduling, is more beneficial than sequential optimization in terms of throughput performance, space utilization and overall system cost. We also find that increasing the number of vehicles has a diminishing return effect on the makespan. Another finding is that the system with a large number of short storage aisles leads to higher throughput capacity than that with a small number of long storage aisles.","PeriodicalId":49772,"journal":{"name":"Naval Research Logistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138506731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In multi-agent search planning for a randomly moving and camouflaging target, we examine heterogeneous searchers that differ in terms of their endurance level, travel speed, and detection ability. This leads to a convex mixed-integer nonlinear program, which we reformulate using three linearization techniques. We develop preprocessing steps, outer approximations via lazy constraints, and bundle-based cutting plane methods to address large-scale instances. Further specializations emerge when the target moves according to a Markov chain. We carry out an extensive numerical study to show the computational efficiency of our methods and to derive insights regarding which approach should be favored for which type of problem instance.
{"title":"Multi-agent search for a moving and camouflaging target","authors":"Miguel Lejeune, Johannes O. Royset, Wenbo Ma","doi":"10.1002/nav.22160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nav.22160","url":null,"abstract":"In multi-agent search planning for a randomly moving and camouflaging target, we examine heterogeneous searchers that differ in terms of their endurance level, travel speed, and detection ability. This leads to a convex mixed-integer nonlinear program, which we reformulate using three linearization techniques. We develop preprocessing steps, outer approximations via lazy constraints, and bundle-based cutting plane methods to address large-scale instances. Further specializations emerge when the target moves according to a Markov chain. We carry out an extensive numerical study to show the computational efficiency of our methods and to derive insights regarding which approach should be favored for which type of problem instance.","PeriodicalId":49772,"journal":{"name":"Naval Research Logistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138506730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A supplier sells a product through a retailer to the market with uncertain demand. The retailer has a signal useful for updating the forecast of market uncertainty, while the supplier can offer a payment to acquire the retailer's signal, termed information sharing. Due to differential means of market access and methods of data analysis, the supplier and the retailer hold diverse beliefs about market conditions. A firm is more confident about market conditions as it perceives the market to be less uncertain. The supplier can be either aware or unaware of the retailer's market belief. In the former case, the supplier correctly predicts the retailer's belief-based response and makes decision accordingly. In the latter case, the supplier infers the retailer's market belief from the retailer's decision about signal disclosure. We unveil the concrete circumstances where the supplier gains access to the retailer's signal, which would not occur when they held the same accurate market belief. Moreover, with the actual profit performance as the measure, the firms can benefit from holding diverse market beliefs, albeit not simultaneously. The supplier's knowledge of the retailer's market belief can facilitate information sharing but can have detrimental effects on the firms' actual profit performance. Given the opportunity, the retailer may report a market belief that is less confident than its real market belief in communicating with the supplier, which can deter information sharing but has intricate effects on the firms' profits.
{"title":"Firms' diverse market beliefs can facilitate information sharing and improve profit performance","authors":"Li Jiang, Zhongyuan Hao","doi":"10.1002/nav.22165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nav.22165","url":null,"abstract":"A supplier sells a product through a retailer to the market with uncertain demand. The retailer has a signal useful for updating the forecast of market uncertainty, while the supplier can offer a payment to acquire the retailer's signal, termed information sharing. Due to differential means of market access and methods of data analysis, the supplier and the retailer hold diverse beliefs about market conditions. A firm is more confident about market conditions as it perceives the market to be less uncertain. The supplier can be either aware or unaware of the retailer's market belief. In the former case, the supplier correctly predicts the retailer's belief-based response and makes decision accordingly. In the latter case, the supplier infers the retailer's market belief from the retailer's decision about signal disclosure. We unveil the concrete circumstances where the supplier gains access to the retailer's signal, which would not occur when they held the same accurate market belief. Moreover, with the actual profit performance as the measure, the firms can benefit from holding diverse market beliefs, albeit not simultaneously. The supplier's knowledge of the retailer's market belief can facilitate information sharing but can have detrimental effects on the firms' actual profit performance. Given the opportunity, the retailer may report a market belief that is less confident than its real market belief in communicating with the supplier, which can deter information sharing but has intricate effects on the firms' profits.","PeriodicalId":49772,"journal":{"name":"Naval Research Logistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138506729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Degradation models based on heterogeneous Wiener processes are commonly used to assess information on the lifetime of highly reliable products. An optimal test plan given limited resources is generally obtained using numerical methods for heterogeneous Wiener processes. However, numerical searches for optimal test plans have the disadvantage of being time-consuming and may provide unclear explanations for the findings. To overcome these difficulties, we derive an explicit expression for decision variables (such as the termination time, number of measurements, and sample size) of