IIE Transactions articles from September 2003

IIE Transactions archives from September 2003

Accounting for parameter uncertainty in simulation input modeling.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction A discrete-event simulation, especially one representing a complex real-world system, is usually driven by random input processes. Such a simulation typically requires several input streams of random variables sampled from...

Robust optimization of experimentally derived objective functions.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction The first task in optimizing a system is to identify the model that relates system performance and design variables. Sometimes it is possible to construct a model based on physical mechanisms. Many times, however, the...

Designing an assembly process with stochastic material arrivals.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction This paper addresses the problem of how to design an assembly process in an environment where materials required for the assembly process are subject to stochastic arrival times, so that the probability of on-time delivery...

Price competition of make-to-order firms.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction Stalk (1988) finds that time-based firms competed by satisfying customers' needs as soon as possible. Successful time-based firms, as noted by Stalk and Hout (1990), provide more service (and product) varieties in shorter...

Market design and human trading behavior in electricity markets.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction The privatization of state electric power systems by foreign governments began in the 1980s in Chile and the UK and subsequently spread to New Zealand, Australia and other countries. (For a review of the early UK...

Enhanced simulation inference using bootstraps of historical inputs.
September 1, 2003... 1. Overview Discrete-event simulation is widely used in the design, analysis, and management of production and service systems. The behavior of the majority of such systems is driven by randomness in inputs. Simulation analysts create...

Competition, learning and investment in new technology.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction Here we consider a profit-maximizing firm facing linear demand for a single product in a market of fixed size. In such a setting, the firm is naturally drawn to focus attention on the evolution of its production costs over...

Replicative use of an external analytical model in simulation variance reduction.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction The method of control variates is an effective and practical Variance Reduction Technique (VRT) for discrete event simulation. VRTs are used to increase the efficiency of a simulation study by reducing the variance of an...

The optimal admission and dispatching control policy of a two-terminal transportation system.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction In many transportation systems, vehicles provide transportation services among terminals such that the vehicles are dynamically dispatched and customers are selectively accepted. In the less-than-truck-load industry, a...

A synthesis of tactical fleet planning models for the car rental industry.
September 1, 2003... 1. Introduction One of the primary functions of revenue management for a car rental company is to determine the optimal mixture and size of the vehicle fleet that should be available for rent at each location on a daily basis. These...

Generalized Linear Models With Applications in Engineering and the Sciences.(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... Raymond H. Myers, Douglas C. Montgomery, and G. Geoffrey Vining John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 2002, 338 pages, ISBN 0-471-35573-9, $89.95 Non-normal data is commonplace in many engineering related experiments. A traditional approach...

Building and Solving Mathematical Programming Models in Engineering and Science.(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... E. Castillo, A.J. Conejo, P. Pedrigal, R. Garcia, and N. Alguacil John Wiley & Sons, 2002, 546 + 16 pages, ISBN 0-471-15043-6 This book is intended for engineers and applied scientists who need to solve real-world problems using...

Operations Research Models and Methods.(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... Paul A. Jensen and Jonathan F. Bard John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2002, 679 pages, ISBN 0-471-38004-0, $115.95 website: www.wiley.com/college/jensen Every once in a while, a clever text comes along that breathes a nice dose of fresh air...