The objective of this research is to develop models and algorithms for an integrative approach to manufacturing. A guiding principle of this approach is that the design of the product and the production process are done concurrently, rather than sequentially as in traditional approaches. A major breakthrough in combinatorial optimization has been the polyhedral combinatoric approach. In this project, the principal investigator proposes to apply this new approach to manufacturing. Many problems in product/production planning (e.g. facility layout, product classification, etc.) can be modeled as combinatorial optimization problems. Researcher's will investigate the polyhedral structure of these problems, develop and evaluate cutting-plane methods that exploit this structure. Model variations and adaptations of the cutting plane algorithms will also be studied. This research will lead to a flexible and effective solution methodology for a wide range of manufacturing design problems. The models and algorithms developed here may be used as part of the control system for an automated factory or as an intelligence module of a decision support system for manufacturing design. The characterization of the polyhedral structure of these problems may also yield insights on the design process, thus guiding the construction of an effective modeling framework for the integrative approach to manufacturing design.
