When the manufacturing objective is process or product improvement, quality practitioners will frequently resort to one or more approaches within the broader class of response surface methodology. Several techniques, such as the dual response, robust parameter design, and desirability function...

This paper presents a modified rapid access (MRA) heuristic to solve the flowshop scheduling problems. This new heuristic follows the fundamental idea of the original rapid access approach by forming a two-machine subproblem, but the processing times are determined by using an exponential...

In this paper, we address the optimal configuration of a capacitated production/inventory system with multiple products. The optimisation problem that we consider involves minimisation of the expected total inventory cost within the system subject to a service-level constraint. The functional...

This paper derives a novel procedure for testing the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) first-order optimality conditions in models with multiple random responses.Such models arise in simulation-based optimization with multivariate outputs.This paper focuses on expensive simulations, which have small...

Simulation is an important tool to make design and operation decisions to enhance the performance of manufacturing processes and systems. The coordinated use of optimisation methods and simulation models can result in better decisions. This paper presents an optimisation via simulation (OvS)...

More and more factors have an influence on effectiveness and efficiency in logistical processes and systems. An important question of science is to identify the most important factors of control complex logistical processes and systems, to know their levels and influences to control all things...

Modelling and simulation are important analysis and presynthesis tools in engineering. Flat end milling processes are accurately modelled using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and real experimentation. ANNs are expensive techniques, as they require enormous experiments over ranges of input...

Six Sigma provides the opportunity and discipline to eliminate mistakes, improve morale, and save money (Henderson and Evans, 2000). Doing things right in the first time and keeping them consistently is the only idea behind Six Sigma. Its fundamental objective is to achieve customer satisfaction...

Modelling and simulation are important analysis and presynthesis tools in engineering. Flat end milling processes are accurately modelled using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and real experimentation. ANNs are expensive techniques, as they require enormous experiments over ranges of input...