Institute for Systems Research

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Author: search.filters.author.Herrmann, Jeffrey W.Subject: search.filters.subject.plant layout

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    A Genetic Algorithm for Minimax Optimization
    (1997) Herrmann, Jeffrey W.; ISR
    This paper describes a two-space genetic algorithm that finds solutions to minimax optimization problems. The genetic algorithm maintains two populations and searches both simultaneously. Each individual is evaluated with respect to the individuals in the other population. Preliminary experimental results confirm that the algorithm can find good solutions to minimax optimization problems.
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    Minimization of Acquisition and Operational Costs in Horizontal Material Handling System Design
    (1995) Herrmann, Jeffrey W.; Ioannou, George; Minis, Ioannis; Proth, J.M.; ISR
    This paper considers the problem of minimizing the fixed cost of acquiring material handling transporters and the operational cost of material transfer in a manufacturing system. This decision problem arises during manufacturing facility design, and is modeled using an integer programming formulation. Two efficient heuristics are developed to solve it. Computational complexity, worst-case performance analysis, and extensive computational tests are provided for both heuristics. The results indicate that the proposed methods are well suited for large-scale manufacturing applications.
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    Design of Material Flow Networks in Manufacturing Facilities
    (1994) Herrmann, Jeffrey W.; Ioannou, George; Minis, Ioannis; Nagi, R.; Proth, J.M.; ISR
    In this paper we consider the design of material handling flow paths in a discrete parts manufacturing facility. A fixed-charge capacitated network design model is presented and two efficient heuristics are proposed to determine near-optimal solutions to the resulting NP- hard problem. The heuristics are tested against an implicit enumeration scheme used to obtain optimal solutions for small examples. For more realistic cases, the solutions of the heuristics are compared to lower bounds obtained by either the linear programming relaxation of the mixed integer program, or an iterative dual ascent algorithm. The results obtained indicate that the heuristics provide good solutions in reasonable time on the average. The proposed methodology is applied to design the flow paths of an existing manufacturing facility. The role of the flow path network problem in the integrated shop design is also discussed.