<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Dear RPX-members:</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Tomorrow 2/21 at 11 EST, there is going
to be a conference call to plan activities to develop the "Real Problem
Exchange" at the INFORMS Practice Meeting. See below. I'll
post the call-in information to the list. (To subscribe to the list, visit
http://www.coin-or.org/RPX)</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Robin</font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif"><br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Robin Lougee-Heimer<br>
IBM TJ Watson Research Center<br>
1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598<br>
ph: 914-945-3032 fax: 914-945-3434 <br>
robinlh@us.ibm.com<br>
http://www.coin-or.org<br>
<br>
</font>
<br><font size=1 color=#800080 face="sans-serif">----- Forwarded by Robin
Lougee-Heimer/Watson/IBM on 03/20/2006 09:19 AM -----</font>
<br>
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<td width=40%><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><b>"Kempf, Karl G"
<karl.g.kempf@intel.com></b> </font>
<p><font size=1 face="sans-serif">03/20/2006 07:31 AM</font>
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<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">To</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">"Kempf, Karl G" <karl.g.kempf@intel.com>,
<david.heltne@lakesideassociates.com>, <hpc@acm.org>, Robin
Lougee-Heimer/Watson/IBM@IBMUS</font>
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<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">cc</font></div>
<td>
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<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Subject</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">RE: time to finsih the plan for the
"real problem exchange" ...</font></table>
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<br>
<br>
<br><font size=2 color=#000080 face="Arial">Thanks for your replies - Tuesday
8 AM PST it is - I'll have my admin get us a bridge as soon as I get to
my office this morning ...</font>
<br><font size=2 color=#000080 face="Arial"> </font>
<div align=center>
<br>
<hr></div>
<br><font size=2 face="Tahoma"><b>From:</b> Kempf, Karl G <b><br>
Sent:</b> Thursday, March 16, 2006 7:47 PM<b><br>
To:</b> david.heltne@lakesideassociates.com; hpc@acm.org; robinlh@us.ibm.com<b><br>
Cc:</b> Kempf, Karl G<b><br>
Subject:</b> time to finsih the plan for the "real problem exchange"
...</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Team - below is what we committed
to in OR/MS Today ......</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">lunch Monday - facilitated
breakout</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">late Monday - birds
of a feather </font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">lunch Tuesday - facilitated
breakout</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">topic 1: form and characteristics
of problems</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">facilitators from practitioner
community</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">example problem statements,
models, data sets</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">distribute questions
before session / post on the web</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">result 1: guidelines</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">topic 2: policies, procedures,
systems</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">facilitators</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">(straw schemes ????)</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">distribute questions
before session / post on web</font>
<br><font size=4 color=blue face="Times New Roman">result 2: guidelines</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">What is "done" ...</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Terry Cryan has the two birds of
a feather sessions scheduled and has rooms etc.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">I am getting ready to co-facilitate
the birds of a feather on form and characteristics of problems - intend
to use one problem set from Willems (see attached - this is a fixed set
of 20 problems of varying sizes including data for each) and a problem
structure that I use in my university collaborations (see below for a partial
description - this I consider to be a problem generator - it comes with
some standard parameter sets but can be re-parameterized and expanded along
many axes).</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">All the rest we have to nail down.
I am free Mon 20th or Tues 21st or Wed 22nd from 9-10 MST (that is 8-9
PST, 10-11 CST, 11-12 EST). Please tell me if any of these work and I will
set up a phone bridge. THANKS - Karl PS - you might remind
me if we had anyone else interested in this that I have forgotten (in fact
you can forward this message to them !!!)</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">This is a discrete time model with
a state description at each time, and a set of stochastic transitions that
move the model forward in time.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Assume there is one factory that
produces 2 products named A and B. The linear manufacturing process is
5 steps long. There is some complexity associated with the steps - a raw
equipment and operator capacity (there is some number of each with an associated
production rate), the minute to minute availability of the equipment and
operators (equipment needs periodic maintenance, operators need periodic
breaks), batching and setup criteria, quality checks requiring engineering
staff, and so on. But there are only three things that can happen
to an individual product A or B at each step in each time period - it can
be successfully processed through the step and at the end of the period
be passed on to the next step, it can not finish processing at the step
and remain at the step through the next time period, it can be processed
through the step but fail its quality test and be scrapped at the end of
the time period precluding it from ever moving to the next step. Assuming
that the factory will always be heavily loaded (and to avoid the necessity
of "simulation"), each step has associated a probability for
each of these possibilities, and those probabilities are applied to each
product during each time period to decide the state of the factory at the
start of the next time period. There is an overall maximum load that the
factory can support (simply an upper bound on the number of products in
the factory). At the beginning of each time period a decision must be made
concerning how many raw As and Bs to release into the line.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- there is a supply process that
is 5 manufacturing stages long representing one factory that manufactures
products A and B</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- at each manufacturing stage,
for each product, the following things can happen to the entities in that
stage during one time period</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
- there is a probability that the product will advance one stage</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
- there is a probability that the product will wait at the stage</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
- there is a probability that the product will be misprocessed and
scraped</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- prior to the distinguished first
manufacturing stage, there is a decision node where a decision has to be
made each time period for each product on how much raw material to release
(from an infinite supply) into the first manufacturing stage</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- there is an upper bound on the
total Work-in-Progress of products A and B that can be accommodated in
the factory at any time</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Assume there is a demand for products
A and B. There is an aggregate forecast of order quantities for each product
10 time periods prior to their desired delivery data. For the first 8 time
periods, in each time period the forecasts can be updated. Due to the variability
in the customers' markets, individual orders can be requested to be delivered
one or two time periods earlier or later. They can also request that individual
orders be increased or decreased in quantity by 5% or 10%. </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">-there is a demand process that
is 10 ordering stages long that consumes products A and B</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- at each stage, for each product,
the following things can happen to the orders in that stage during one
time period</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
- there is a probability that the order will advance one or two
stages</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
- there is a probability that the order will wait at the stage or
digress one stage</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">
- there is a probability that the order will be decreased (perhaps
to zero) or increased in quantity</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- prior to the distinguished first
demand stage, there is a decision node where a decision has to be made
each time period for each product on how many new orders to release into
the first ordering stage</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- there is no upper bound on the
total Orders-in-Progress of products A and B that can be accommodated in
the ordering system at any time</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- there is an inventory position
into which flows products A and B that successfully advance out of the
last manufacturing stage</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- the materials in this position
perish after 10 time periods</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- there is an inventory position
into which flows orders for products A and B that successfully advance
out of the last ordering stage</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- the orders in this position perish
after 5 time periods</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- there is a decision node between
these two positions where a decision is taken at the end of each time period
as to which orders to fill with which products</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- each time a product enters the
supply process, a charge is applied - $W for A, $X for B</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- each time a product in inventory
is matched with an order in inventory, and both are withdrawn, a credit
is applied - $Y for A, $Z for B</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">- the goal is to maximize profit
over some horizon as the difference between total credits and total charges</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>