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In this paper, we will show that the economic lot-sizing problem with rework of defectives is NP-hard. Therefore, we reduce it to the well-known PARTITION problem. This is in line with the findings for similar models that in-vestigate lot-sizing with remanufacturing.

There have been several infamous incidences where world-renowned corporations have been caught by surprise when a low-tier downstream supplier has been publicly found to be non-compliant with basic corporate social responsibilities (CSR) codes. In such instances, the company reputation, and consequently financial health, suffer greatly. Motivated by the advances in predictive modeling, we present a predictive analytics model for detecting possible supplier deviations before they become a corporate liability. The model will be built based on publicly available data such as news and online content. We apply text mining and machine learning tools to design a corporate social responsibility "early warning system" on the upstream side of the supply chain. In our literature review we found that there is a lack of studies that focus on the social aspect of sustainability. Our research will help fill this gap by providing performance measures that can be used to build prescriptive analytics models to help in the selection of suppliers. To this end, we use the output of the predictive model to create a supplier selection optimization model that takes into account CSR compliance in global supply chain context. We propose a heuristic to solve the problem and computationally study its effectiveness as well as the impact of introducing CSR on procurement costs as well as ordering and supplier selection patterns. Our models provide analytics tools to companies to detect supplier deviance behaviour and act upon it so as to contain its impact and possible disruptions that can shake the whole supply chain. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Photolithography is the most complex of the operations involved in the fabrication of a wafer, and it requires the greatest precision. Photolithography is used to create multiple layers of circuit patterns on a chip. Traditionally, wafer fab operations, and in particular, those performed in the photolithography processing area, have always presented challenging scheduling and control problems. Some of the characteristics that make the photolithography processing area difficult to schedule are as follows: reentrant flow, unpredictable yield and rework time at critical operations, shared resources such as reticles, rapidly changing technologies, and lot dedication for steppers and scanners for critical layers. This processing area, where wafers are exposed using scanners or steppers, typically, comprises the bottleneck workstations. Also, the numbers of reticles available for a given layer of product type are limited. Consequently, it is important to develop appropriate schedules to ensure effective utilization of the tools involved. In this study, a manufacturing line that is used to produce four dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products, requiring approximately 240 stages with 18 photolithography layers, is considered. The problem we propose to investigate can concisely be described as follows: Given a set of products to be processed in a photolithography area consisting of steppers and scanners (tools), with each product requiring a specific reticle type, determine the sequence in which to process the lots on the tools loaded with requisite reticles, so as to minimize the cycle time. The reticles required for processing a product are known apriori and can be transferred from one tool to another. Also, the lot dedication requirement has to be met. This requirement pertains to the fact that some of the layers of a lot should be processed on the same tool. (Scanner or Stepper). The processing of other layers may not require lot dedication. These are handled accordingly. Some lots may enter into the system with the requirement of processing them urgently. (called hot lots). These are handled in the formulation of the problem as such. Two solution methodologies are presented for the above stated problem. The first methodology uses a mathematical programming based approach. For the given routes and processing times of the product types, the entire problem is formulated as an Integer program. This integer program uses the start time of the jobs at various operations and the availability of reticles as variables, among others. The objective is to reduce the cycle time of the lots released into the system. The cycle time of a lot is defined as the time that a lot spends in the system. Results from the experimentation for integer program show that the computation time for solving small size problems is very high. A methodology is presented to solve this model efficiently. The second methodology consists of the development of a new dispatching rule for scheduling lots in the photolithography processing area. This along with the other dispatching rules discussed in the literature are implemented using the Autosched AP software to study the impact that lot dedication makes on the performance of a fab. The performance measures that are considered include throughput, cycle time, WIP and utilization of tool sets. The results are presented for 1-level, 2-level and 3-level lot dedication schemes. . It is shown that the 3- level lot dedication scheme performs the best under no preventive maintenance/breakdown case while, for the deterministic value of unscheduled breakdown times and preventive maintenance schedule used, 1-level lot dedication performed the best. Even though the 3-level lot dedication scheme is more flexible as compared to the 1–level lot dedication scheme, yet for the values of unscheduled breakdown times and preventive maintenance schedule used, the performance of the 3- level lot dedication scheme is worse than that of the 1- level lot dedication scheme. For another set of break down time values and preventive maintenance schedule, the outcome can be different. We also compare the performance of the proposed procedure with that of the dispatching rules available with the AutoSched AP software. The results indicate that the proposed procedure is consistent in generating better solutions under different operating conditions. / Master of Science

Volvo GTO is currently interested in reducing their batch sizes at the press operation in Umeå. Where a large number of different cab parts are currently produced for trucks on two different production lines that interact with each other. The reason for wanting to reduce the batch sizes is to reduce their warehousing costs, free up factory space for other activities and to create a more dynamic production that can respond to market changes rapidly. In the thesis work, the effects of changes in batch size in the press lines has been anal- ysed with both qualitatively and quantitatively methods. The analyses have been based on finding the smallest possible batch size for the stamped articles. This follows lean production where unnecessary waste of resources should be avoided, and Just-In-Time production should be sought. By testing the current production using batch sizes close to the theoretical minimum, we obtain and can analyse the various processes that are affected by changed batch sizes. These analyses are delimited to the effects after the two press lines and then mainly on the different types of inventories and processes that occur after press lines. The conclusion we can draw from this analysis is that there are many parameters that weigh into the definition of an optimal batch size from a cost perspective. This is be- cause it is a large production organisation with many sub-processes. Results show that the setup costs increases from smaller batch sizes and are not matched by the profits from less inventory holding cost. But since inventory space in the plant is in high demand the gained space from smaller batch sizes could be profitable long term. There is several other advantages that could justify reduced batch sizes on both press lines like shorter lead times, less overproduction and movements. Smaller batch sizes may confront some problems in the QC control process, outer setup, quality issues and increase visibility. / Volvo GTO Umeå är i dagsläget intresserade av att minska sina batchstorlekar i pressli- norna. I dagsläget produceras en större mängd olika hyttdelar till lastbilar på två olika produktionslinor som samspelar med varandra. Anledningen till att man vill minska sina batchstorlekar är för att sänka sina lagerhållningskostnader, frigöra fabriksyta till andra aktiviteter samt att uppnå en mer dynamisk produktion som snabbare kan svara till marknadsförändringar. I arbetet har flödet efter dessa presslinor analyserats både kvalitatitvt och kvantitativt. Analyserna i arbetet har utgått från att hitta den minsta möjliga batchstorleken för ar- tiklarna. Detta ligger i linje med lean principen där onödigt resursslöseri skall undvikas, och Just-In-Time produktion bör eftersträvas. Genom att testa den nuvarande produktionsstrukturen med batchstorlekar nära teo- retiskt minimum analyserar vi de olika processer som påverkas av förändrade batch- strolekar och hur de kostnaderna kopplade till processerna påverkas. Dessa analyser grundar sig på det som sker efter pressverksamheten och då främst olika typer av lager och förädlingsprocesser. Den slutsats vi kan dra från denna analys är att det finns många parametrar som väger in vid definieringen av en optimal batchstorlek ur ett kostnadsperspektiv. Detta eftersom det är en stor produktionsapparat med många delprocesser. De slutsatser som dras är att mindre batchstorlekar ökar ställkostnader och matchas in av de konkreta vinsterna i minskade lagerhållnadskostnader. Men då yta i fabriken är i hög efterfrågan kan ytan värderas så högt att det finns långsiktiga vinster att minska batchstorlekarna. Det finns också flertalet andra fördelar som skulle kunna rättfärdiga minskade batchstorlekar på båda presslinorna så som kortare ledtider, mindre överproduktion och färre förflyttningar. Mindre batchstorlekar kan också synliggöra problem i kvalitetskontrollprocessen, yttre ställ, kvalitetsproblem och öka visibilitet.

The main campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) has a current parking inventory of approximately 14,310 parking spaces in 88 surface lots. Of the available parking spaces 92% are designated for the use of Virginia Tech students, faculty and staff members. The share of visitor usage of these parking spaces is approximately 2%. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the current visitor parking system and develop techniques to enhance the parking facility operations. The current visitor parking demand is determined by conducting a field evaluation of the visitor parking in five parking lots. Personal and follow-up interviews were conducted with university visitors to determine their satisfaction levels with the existing parking facilities. While the survey results demonstrated that 52% of visitors rated the parking services to be good or very good, the study also showed that approximately 28% of the visitors did not know the location of the most convenient parking lot to access their destination and almost 6% were not satisfied with the parking services offered by Virginia Tech. Apart from this, about 32% of the visitors had to visit at least 2 parking lots before finding a parking space. These figures clearly demonstrate a need for a better management of the parking lots to serve the visitors in an efficient way. In an attempt to enhance the visitor parking system a web-based interactive framework is proposed. This framework identifies the best possible parking lot(s) for a selected destination considering various factors like - distance of the parking lot to the destination and typical occupancy of the parking lot at specific times of the day and other relevant factors. The web-based interactive system is designed to provide the visitor with two or more choices for the parking in order to arrive at their desired destination. / Master of Science

Nous nous intéressons au Problème de Dimensionnement de Lots mono-produit (PDL) dans une chaîne logistique composée d'un détaillant et d'un fournisseur en y intégrant le contrat buyback et l'approvisionnement par batch. L'objectif est de déterminer un plan d'approvisionnement pour le détaillant pour satisfaire ses demandes déterministes sur un horizon fini, tout en minimisant ses coûts d'approvisionnement et de stockage. Concernant le coût d'approvisionnement, nous supposons deux structures différentes : FTL (Full Truck Load) et OFB (Only Full Batch). Trois types de contrat buyback sont étudiés : avec des périodes de retour fixes, avec une limite de temps sur les retours, et avec des retours uniquement dans les périodes d'approvisionnement. Chaque contrat est caractérisé par un pourcentage de retour maximal qui peut être égal à 100% (retour total) ou inférieur à 100% (retour partiel). Pour le PDL sous le contrat buyback avec des périodes de retour fixes, nous supposons le cas de ventes perdues (lost sales). En outre, un autre concept ajouté dans les PDL sous les trois types de contrat buyback réside dans le fait que le détaillant peut jeter la quantité invendue et non retournée au fournisseur, appelé mise au rebut (disposal). Nous avons modélisé ces différentes extensions du PDL par des Programmes Linéaires en Nombres Entiers (PLNE). Nous avons ensuite développé des algorithmes exacts polynomiaux de programmation dynamique pour certaines extensions, et montré la NP-difficulté pour d'autres. Pour chaque problème résolu en temps polynomial, nous avons comparé l'efficacité et les limites de l'algorithme proposé avec celles des quatre formulations en PLNE. Nous avons également proposé des modèles mathématiques pour les PDL sous d'autres types de contrats de réservation de capacité dans le cas déterministe à multi-périodes. / We study the single-item Lot Sizing Problem (LSP) in a supply chain composed of a retailer and a supplier by integrating the buyback contract and the batch ordering. The purpose is to determine a replenishment planning for the retailer to satisfy his deterministic demands over a finite horizon, while minimizing the procurement and inventory costs. Regarding the procurement cost, we assume two different structures: FTL (Full Truck Load) and OFB (Only Full Batch). We consider three types of buyback contract: with fixed return periods, with a time limit on returns, and with returns permitted only in procurement periods. Each contract is characterized by the maximum return percentage being either equal to 100% (full return) or less than 100% (partial return). For the LSP under the buyback contract with fixed return periods, we assume the concept of lost sales. Another concept considered in the LSP's under the three types of buyback contract is the disposal of the unsold and unreturned quantities. We model these different LSP extensions as a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP). Thereafter, we develop exact polynomial time dynamic programming algorithms for some extensions and show the NP-hardness of others. For each problem solved in polynomial time, we compare the efficiency and the limits of the proposed algorithm with those of four MILP formulations by performing different tests. Finally, we propose mathematical models for the LSP's under other types of the capacity reservation contract in the deterministic and multi-period case.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka optimala orderstorlekar på kaffeproducenten Zoégas förpackningslinjer i Helsingborg. Bakgrunden är att företaget är omedvetna om hur dagens orderstorlekar påverkar produktionen, med hänsyn till produktivitet samt ställ- och lagerhållningskostnader. Fallföretaget har dessutom en vilja att på längre sikt att införa ”pull planning”, vilket understödjer vetskap om förpackningslinjernas förutsättningar. Studien är i huvudsak uppdelad i två distinkta moment; ett som jämför historisk produktivitet i förhållande till orderstorlek och ett som beräknar optimal orderstorlek med hjälp av schemaläggningsverktyget ”Economic lot scheduling problem” (ELSP). Ena förpackningslinjen utmynnar i ett klassiskt fall av ”basic period approach”, som frekvent har behandlats inom litteraturen för ELSP. De andra linjerna har ställtider som beror på ordning, vilket komplicerar tillvägagångssättet. Huvuddelen av datainsamlingen har möjliggjorts genom tillgång till data från företagets produktions- och affärssystem. ELSP-resultatet genererar orderstorlekar och tillverkningsscheman för samtliga förpackningslinjer; optimerade med kostnadsminimering. Studien fann även statistiskt signifikanta samband mellan orderstorlek och produktivitet på Zoégas; samband som resulterade i gränsvärden för mest produktiva orderstorlekar. Majoriteten av ELSP-storlekarna placerade sig innanför dessa gränser. Slutligen fann studien att företaget, vid implementering av studiens förbättringsförslag, kan öka sin produktomsättning och på så sätt vara bättre förberedda för införande av ”pull planning”. / The purpose of this thesis is to investigate optimal order quantities at the coffee producer Zoéga’s packaging lines in Helsingborg. The company is currently unaware of how order quantities affect their production; with regards to productivity as well as setup- and holding costs. With a long-term vision of incorporating “pull planning”, the case company also needs to evaluate the capabilities of their current production system. The case study mainly addresses two areas; one comparing historical productivity in relation to order quantity, and one determining optimal order quantity with the scheduling-tool known as “Economic lot scheduling problem”. One of the packaging lines results in a classic case of “Basic period approach”, a problem frequently reviewed in ELSP-literature. The other lines have sequence dependent setup times, which required a more complex model. The primarily data collection has been from internal production- and management systems. The ELSP-results generated optimal order quantities and production schedules for all packaging lines. The study also found statistically significant correlations between order quantity and productivity for Zoéga’s. These correlations compiled upper and lower limits for the most productive order quantities; where most of the ELSP-quantities placed inside these limits. Finally, the study shows that by implementing these suggestions, Zoéga’s could speed up their product turnover and be better prepared for “pull planning” implementation in the future.

Wine companies face two important challenges in their supply chain: the international shipping temperatures and their effect on the perceived quality of the wine and the optimization of the bottling schedule. The wine maker takes special care in producing the best quality product, which is then shipped to the importer/distributor or consumer, generally in non-refrigerated containers at the mercy of the prevailing environmental conditions. The contributions of this work is that it is the first to measure, for a significant period of time, the temperatures along the international wine supply chain and to link them to the specific supply chain processes. This is also the first work that analyzes the effect of shipping temperature on the perceived quality of the product by those who make the purchase decision for importers, restaurants and supermarkets. Results indicate that the wine is very likely to have been exposed to extreme temperatures during shipping. For white wines, tasters are able to detect differences in wines which have been exposed to shipping temperatures and show a preference towards them. For red wines, they are unable to detect differences. Our contribution to the second challenge was the development of a model that produces solutions for the wine bottling lot sizing and scheduling problem with sequence dependent setup times, in an adequate time-frame, which can be implemented by large wineries. We have developed a model and algorithm that produces fast, good and robust solutions for the winery lot sizing and scheduling problem with sequence dependent setup times. We implemented an effective decomposition algorithm that uses the structure of the problem, that can be applied to other families of sequence dependent scheduling and lot sizing problem. Results indicate that the model achieves reductions of 30\% in the total plan costs.