Hybrid differential evolution algorithm for the resource constrained project scheduling problem with a flexible project structure and consumption and production of resources

The resource constrained project scheduling problem with a flexible project structure and consumption and production of resources, involves making a selection of activities and scheduling these activities in order to minimize the makespan, subject to precedence and resource constraints. Since finding a feasible selection of activities is NP...

Solving a flexible resource-constrained project scheduling problem for an e-grocery fulfilment centre: a meta-heuristic approach: Master thesis Aerospace Engineering

The demand for online shopping has grown tremendously in the last couple of years. Picnic, a major player in the online grocery industry, is struggling to achieve long-term growth within its current operations. Scheduling and planning are key drivers for maintaining operational efficiency. The Fulfilment Centre (FC) and...

SAT-based optimisation for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem with time-dependent resource capacities and requests

In this paper, a variant of the resource-constrained project scheduling problem is discussed. This variant introduces time-dependence for resource capacities and requests, making the problem a more realistic model for many practical applications such as production scheduling and medical research project planning. The main aim of this paper is to...

Resource-constraint project scheduling with task preemption and setup times by Boolean satisfiability encoding and satisfiability (SAT) solver

Scheduling has been subject to much research. The resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) is no exception. With the multiple different variations and additions to the standard definition that are possible, many exact, heuristic and meta-heuristic approaches have been proposed. One of those variations is allowing tasks in the...

Network restructuring as a way to mitigate project delays: A multicriteria and optimization approach for network restructuring as a strategy to mitigate project delays in large infrastructure projects; an alternative perspective on the Mitigation Controller

Purpose - This development project is focused on the combination of project scheduling and risk mitigation for large infrastructure projects. The aim of this project is to develop a model that can automatically restructure the network schedule to enable that delay is mitigated as much as possible while the effects on multiple project criteria...

MitC: Open-source software for construction project control and delay mitigation

Changes in a construction project schedule can impact the project's planned duration, resulting in penalties. A manual trial-and-error probabilistic approach is usually conducted to find an appropriate set of corrective measures to mitigate delays of the overall project. However, this approach does not capture the actual goal-oriented...

Optimization of the short-term labor and task scheduling in the maintenance of regional trains

The Dutch Railways (NS) is the Dutch national passenger railway operator. They own rolling stock that has to be maintained regularly. One of the maintenance facilities executing regular maintenance on regional trains is the maintenance department (OB) in Leidschendam. The aim of this project is to develop a framework for optimizing the...

Mitigation Controller: Adaptive Simulation Approach for Planning Control Measures in Large Construction Projects

Probabilistic Monte Carlo simulations are often used to determine a project's completion time given a required probability level. During project execution, schedule changes negatively affect the probability of meeting the project's completion time. A manual trial and error approach is then conducted to find a set of mitigation measures to...

An Integrated Planning Approach: Maintenance Task Scheduling Optimization

Aircraft base maintenance consists of hundreds of tasks including preventive, corrective and modification tasks which have to be scheduled to a few check moments per year. The allocation of tasks to checks represents a complex scheduling problem due to the constraints involved. A mixed integer linear programming model was developed to optimize...

Improving RCPSP algorithms using machine learning methods

For performing technical maintenance, it is important to keep a detailed schedule of resources and temporal constraints. The Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) is a well de- fined scheduling model with both resources and temporal constraints. Precedence Constraint Posting (PCP) is a technique to solve the NP-hard RCPSP...

Scheduling under uncertainty: Attaining flexibility, robustness and stability

The research presented in this thesis is part of the Rolling Stock Life Cycle Logistics applied research and development program, conducted by NedTrain. As a company, NedTrain belongs to Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; the principal railway company in the Netherlands) and provides maintenance services for the NS train-fleet. The aim of this program...

Robust Solutions for the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem: Understanding and Improving Robustness in Partial Order Schedules produced by the Chaining algorithm

Robustness is essential for schedules if they are being executed under uncertain conditions. In this thesis we research robustness in Partial Order Schedules, which represent sets of solutions for instances of the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem. They can be generated using a greedy procedure called Chaining, which can be easily...

Improving PCP algorithms using flexibility metrics: Creating flexible schedules for Technical Maintenance

In this work we improve on existing scheduling techniques suitable for scheduling problems at the train maintenance provider, NedTrain. Scheduling problems that require flexible solutions can be modeled using variations of the Resource Constraint Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP), which can be solved using Precedence Constraint Posting (PCP)....

Project Scheduling: The Impact of Instance Structure on Heuristic Performance

Many meta-heuristic approaches have been suggested for or applied to the Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP). The existence of a number of highly accessible standard benchmark sets has promoted a research focus on finding anything that improves average solution quality, without investigating what effect is responsible for the...

Stochastic Scheduling of Train Maintenance Projects

We study the application of stochastic scheduling methods for dealing with the negative impact of uncertainty on the timely delivery of NedTrain maintenance projects. A stochastic scheduling problem includes a quantification of uncertainty by representing the duration of a maintenance activity with a probability distribution. The solution is no...