Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Inspection Routing and Scheduling for Engineering Management

Technological advancements in unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)have revolutionized various industries,enabling the widespread adoption of UAV-based solutions.In engineering management,UAV-based inspection has emerged as a highly efficient method for identifying hidden risks in high-risk construction environments,surpassing traditional inspection techniques.Building on this foundation,this paper delves into the optimization of UAV inspection routing and scheduling,addressing the complexity introduced by factors such as no-fly zones,monitoring-interval time windows,and multiple monitoring rounds.To tackle this challenging problem,we propose a mixed-integer linear programming(MILP)model that optimizes inspection task assignments,monitoring sequence schedules,and charging decisions.The comprehensive consideration of these factors differentiates our problem from conventional vehicle routing problem(VRP),leading to a mathematically intractable model for commercial solvers in the case of large-scale instances.To overcome this limitation,we design a tailored variable neighborhood search(VNS)metaheuristic,customizing the algorithm to efficiently solve our model.Extensive numerical experiments are conducted to validate the efficacy of our proposed algorithm,demonstrating its scalability for both large-scale and real-scale instances.Sensitivity experiments and a case study based on an actual engineering project are also conducted,providing valuable insights for engineering managers to enhance inspection work efficiency.

AGV Scheduling Optimization of Automated Port Based on Disruption Management

The recent rapid development of China’s foreign trade has led to the significant increase in waterway transportation and automated container ports. Automated terminals can significantly improve the loading and unloading efficiency of container terminals. These terminals can also increase the port’s transportation volume while ensuring the quality of cargo loading and unloading, which has become an inevitable trend in the future development of ports. However, the continuous growth of the port’s transportation volume has increased the horizontal transportation pressure on the automated terminal, and the problems of route conflicts and road locks faced by automated guided vehicles (AGV) have become increasingly prominent. Accordingly, this work takes Xiamen Yuanhai automated container terminal as an example. This work focuses on analyzing the interference problem of path conflict in its horizontal transportation AGV scheduling. Results show that path conflict, the most prominent interference factor, will cause AGV scheduling to be unable to execute the original plan. Consequently, the disruption management was used to establish a disturbance recovery model, and the Dijkstra algorithm for combining with time windows is adopted to plan a conflict-free path. Based on the comparison with the rescheduling method, the research obtains that the deviation of the transportation path and the deviation degree of the transportation path under the disruption management method are much lower than those of the rescheduling method. The transportation path deviation degree of the disruption management method is only 5.56%. Meanwhile, the deviation degree of the transportation path under the rescheduling method is 44.44%.

Analyses on schedule-cost coefficient correlation of spaceflight project based on historical statistics and its application

When analyze the uncertainty of the cost and the schedule of the spaceflight project, it is needed to know the value of the schedule-cost correlation coefficient. This paper deduces the schedule distribution, considering the effect of the cost, and proposes the estimation formula of the correlation coefficient between the in（schedule） and the cost. On the basis of the fact and Taylor expansion, the relation expression between the schedule-cost correlation coefficient and the in-schedule-cost correlation coefficient is put forward. By analyzing the value features of the estimation formula of the in-schedule-cost correlation coefficient, the general rules are proposed to ascertain the value of the schedule-cost correlation coefficient. An example is given to demonstrate how to approximately amend the schedule-cost correlation coefficient based on the historical statistics, which reveals the traditional assigned value is inaccurate. The universality of this estimation method is analyzed.

Quantitative Approaches on Staff Scheduling and Rostering in Hospitality Management: An Overview

Staff scheduling and rostering problems, with application in several application areas, from transportation systems to hospitals, have been widely addressed by researchers. This is not the case of hospitality services, which have been forgotten by the quantitative research literature. The purpose of this paper is to provide some insights on the application of staff scheduling and rostering problems to hospitality management operations, reviewing existing approaches developed in other similar areas, such as nurse rostering or examining adaptable problem models, such as the tour scheduling.

A Transparent and User-Centric Approach to Unify Resource Management and Code Scheduling of Local,Edge,and Cloud

Recently, several novel computing paradigms are proposed, e.g., fog computing and edge computing. In such more decentralized computing paradigms, the location and resource for code execution and data storage of end applications could also be optionally distributed among different places or machines. In this paper, we position that this situation requires a new transparent and usercentric approach to unify the resource management and code scheduling from the perspective of end users. We elaborate our vision and propose a software-defined code scheduling framework. The proposed framework allows the code execution or data storage of end applications to be adaptively done at appropriate machines under the help of a performance and capacity monitoring facility, intelligently improving application performance for end users. A pilot system and preliminary results show the advantage of the framework and thus the advocated vision for end users.

Energy Aware Processor Architecture for Effective Scheduling and Power Management in Cloud Using Inclusive Power-Cognizant Processor Controller

The fast acceptance of cloud technology to industry explains increasing energy conservation needs and adoption of energy aware scheduling methods to cloud. Power consumption is one of the top of mind issues in cloud, because the usage of cloud storage by the individuals or organization grows rapidly. Developing an efficient power management processor architecture has gained considerable attention. However, the conventional power management mechanism fails to consider task scheduling policies. Therefore, this work presents a novel energy aware framework for power management. The proposed system leads to the development of Inclusive Power-Cognizant Processor Controller (IPCPC) for efficient power utilization. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, simulation experiments inputting random tasks as well as tasks collected from Google Trace Logs were conducted to validate the supremacy of IPCPC. The research based on Real world Google Trace Logs gives results that proposed framework leads to less than 9% of total power consumption per task of server which proves reduction in the overall power needed.

SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION MANAGEMENT WITH MULTIPLE COMPETING RETAILERS

As for the supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and multiple competing retailers, the disruption management decision is considered for the demand disruption that both the investment sensitivity coefficient and the investment-elasticity are changed simultaneously. Meanwhile, the corresponding solutions are given for different cases of the disruption, and the characteristics of the solutions are analyzed. The production plan is proved to he robustness under certain conditions, and the production plan of the coordination strategy is investigated for the disruption with appropriate contractual arrangement, i. e. , a subside rate schedule. Mutual restraints exist between the changed investment sensitivity coefficient and the investment-elasticity when the coordination mecha- nism is used. And the more the number of the retailers in the system, the more the subside provided by the suppler on the coordinaton strategy.

Overall plan and design of the task management system of ternary optical computer

t In this paper an overall scheme of the task management system of ternary optical computer （TOC） is proposed, and the software architecture chart is given. The function and accomplishment of each module in the system are described in general. In addition, according to the aforementioned scheme a prototype of TOC task management system is implemented, and the feasibility, rationality and completeness of the scheme are verified via running and testing the prototype.

Impacts of the Financial Factors on Schedule Delays Risk of the International Contracting Projects: Evidence from Highway BOT Pro-jects in Vietnam

Vietnam has become a major market for construction enterprises from East Asian countries, especially from China, to participate in international project contracting, but serious schedule delays have important adverse effects on local government and foreign investment companies. Based on international engineering contracting mode of Vietnam highway BOT construction projects, we discussed the drive financial factors of schedule delays, using the methods of exploratory factor analysis and questionnaire survey, and evaluated the effects of various factors which are through regression analysis. The empirical results show that the five categories of financial factors, including the policy change, slow payment, financial mismanagement, financial market changes and lack of fiscal, have significant effects on schedule delay. Furtherly, we suggested that strengthening policy research and improving financial management ability should be used to reduce the influence of relevant financial factors on schedule delay, to improve the profitability of international businesses and the motivation of foreign enterprises to participate in Vietnam highway project.

Real-time and dynamic schedule optimization of construction projects on the basis of lean construction

Lean construction has been newly applied to construction industry. The best performance of a project can be achieved through the precise definition of construction product, rational work break structure, lean supply chain, decrease of resources waste, objective control and so forth. Referring to the characteristics of schedule planning of construction projects and lean construction philosophy, we proposed optimizing methodology of real-time and dynamic schedule of construction projects based on lean construction. The basis of the methodology is process reorganization and lean supply in construction enterprises. The traditional estimating method of the activity duration is fuzzy and random;however, a newly proposed lean forecasting method employs multi-components linear-regression, back-propagation artificial neural networks and learning curve. Taking account of the limited resources and the fixed duration of a project, the optimizing method of the real-time and dynamic schedule adopts the concept of resource driving. To optimize the schedule of a construction project timely and effectively, an intellectualized schedule management system was developed. It can work out the initial schedule, optimize the real-time and dynamic schedule, and display the schedule with the Gant Chart, the net-work graph and the space-time line chart. A case study was also presented to explain the proposed method.

Optimization of project payment schedules with Nash equilibrium model and genetic algorithm

To minimize the deviations of the net present values of project payment for both the owner and the client and optimize project payment schedules, a Nash equilibrium model based on game theory was set up and a genetic algorithm was developed to work out the Nash equilibrium solution with a two-stage backward inductive approach that requires the client responds to the owner’s payment schedule with an activity schedule so as to maximize the client’s net present value of cash flows. A case study demonstrated that a payment schedule at the Nash equilibrium position enables both the owner and the client to gain their desirable interests, thus is a win-win solution for both parties. Despite the computation time of the proposed algrithm in need of improving, combining Nash equilibrium and genetic algorithm into a complete-information dynamic-game model is a promising method for project management optimization.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) in Construction Schedule Risk Assessment

Construction project scheduling is one of the most critical factors for project success measurement.Not only for the project planning but for construction process management,the scheduling is the basic tool for communication between the owner and the project manager.By developing the schedule before the project starts,the owner knows in advance that the expected timeline of the project.By preparing construction process scheduling,the owner and general contractor can better manage the subcontractors,sub-trades progress,materials storage and deliveries,labors schedule and equipment set up which will eventually save time,money and hassle.Basically,Critical Path Method(CPM) is commonly used in the construction industry.CPM is a deterministic method that assumes that through the network,there is at least one path that determines the project duration and that the path is the critical path.CPM does not consider the uncertainty in the activities;rather it assumes that each activity can be finished in the given situation.Program Evaluation and Review Technique(PERT) is a stochastic technique which is based on the assumption that the duration of a single activity can be described by a probability density function.PERT takes into account the uncertainty during the construction process and has been created out of the need to plan,schedule and control complex projects with many uncertainties.The PERT approach is stated in some books and papers,but there is no deep investigation on the application in the schedule risk assessment.This paper investigates the PERT work process and takes a valuable try on the construction schedule risk assessment by using case studies.The utilization in the estimate the construction liquidated damage with the uncertainties is performed,which also can be used in the insurance company to calculate the insurance premium.

Research on logistics domain-oriented cloud resource management model and architecture

To address the challenges posed by resource shortage or surplus to enterprises productivity,Internet platforms have been widely used,which can balance shortage and surplus in broader environments. However,the existing resource management models lack openness,sharing ability and scalability,which make it difficult for many heterogeneous resources to co-exist in the same system. It is also difficult to resolve the conflicts between distributed self-management and centralized scheduling in the system. This paper analyzes the characteristics of resources in the distributed environment and proposes a new resource management architecture by considering the resource aggregation capacity of cloud computing. The architecture includes a universal resource scheduling optimization model which has been applied successfully in double-district multi-ship-scheduling multi-container-yard empty containers transporting of international shipping logistics. Applications in all these domains prove that this new resource management architecture is feasible and can achieve the expected effect.

Operations Management Perspectives in the Air Transport Management

The area of operations management has had a substantial effect on the today’s air transportation management.Having moved with huge demand from management to obtain a competitive advantage in the market,the airlines are utilizing advanced optimization techniques to develop decision support systems for operations management and control.In order to provide a service with high quality and low cost,airlines spend a tremendous amount of resources and effort to generate profitable and cost-effective fare classes,flight schedules,fleet plans,aircraft routes,crew scheduling,gate assignment,etc.In this paper,the techniques and operations management applications that are used in the air transportation industry are reviewed including demand forecasting,fleet assignment,aircraft routing,crew scheduling,runway scheduling problem and gate assignment.

Project Management and Coordination of Distributed Cooperative Product Design in a Virtual Enterprise

The architecture of project management of distributed concurrent product design in a virtual enterprise is put forward. T he process of project management and its functions are presented. Product design process coordination is also discussed. First, based on the analysis of traditi onal project management, project management and coordination of distributed coop erative product design in the virtual enterprise is put forward. Then, aiming at the characteristics of a distributed concurrent product design process, the inh erent rules and complex interrelations in product development are studied. Accor dingly, the architecture of project management of distributed cooperative produc t design in a virtual enterprise is presented to adapt to distributed concurrent development of complex products. The main advantages of the architecture are al so discussed. Finally, the emphasis is placed on the project management process. Its main functions are set forth, such as project definition, task decompositio n and distribution, resource constraints and dynamic resource scheduling, proces s fusion, task scheduling and monitoring, project plan, cost and quality evaluat ion, etc.

Continuous query scheduler based on operators clustering

Data stream management system (DSMS) provides convenient solutions to the problem of processing continuous queries on data streams.Previous approaches for scheduling these queries and their operators assume that each operator runs in separate thread or all operators combine in one query plan and run in a single thread.Both approaches suffer from severe drawbacks concerning the thread overhead and the stalls due to expensive operators.To overcome these drawbacks,a novel approach called clustered operators scheduling (COS) is proposed that adaptively clusters operators of the query plan into a number of groups based on their selectivity and computing cost using S-mean clustering.Experimental evaluation is provided to demonstrate the potential benefits of COS scheduling over the other scheduling strategies.COS can provide adaptive,flexible,reliable,scalable and robust design for continuous query processor.

Buffer Sizing Method for Constructing Stable Schedules with Duration Constraints

The assumption of static and deterministic conditions is common in the practice of construction project planning. However, at the construction phase, projects are subject to uncertainty. This may lead to serious schedule disruptions and, as a consequence, serious revisions oft.he schedule baseline. The aim of the paper is developing a method for constructing robust project schedules with a proactive procedure. Robust project scheduling allows for constructing stable schedules with time buffers introduced to cope with multiple disruptions during project execution. The method proposed by the authors, based on Monte Carlo simulation technique and mathematical programming for buffer sizing optimization, was applied to scheduling an example project. The results were compared, in terms of schedule stability, to those of the float factor heuristic procedttre.

A Method to Solve PBL Issues and to Improve Project Management Competencies of Students

It is generally accepted that Project-Based Learning(PBL)is very valuable in preparing students to become working members of society.However,some issues have been recognized with PBL such as:(1)some students lack an active attitude or ride on the coattails of their teammates in their PBL team work;(2)a range of achievement levels among project teams;(3)spending most of their time to discuss the objective and the goal;and(4)not well managed as a project.Integrated Scheduling Method(IScM)and the associated tool called Deliverables Dependency Matrix(DDM)have been proposed to create a highly feasible project schedule for a product development.It was noticed that they might have the potential to resolve these PBL issues because the schedule creation is a core part of project management and includes most of all factors to manage PBL as a project.Two trials of the application with Modified-IScM(M-IScM)and DDM to PBL courses have been conducted.The first trial was intended to evaluate if M-IScM and DDM could resolve the PBL issues.A lecture prior to the second PBL with some findings from the first trial was given to students to improve their project management competencies.As a result,it was confirmed that M-IScM and DDM had the potential to resolve the PBL issues and revealed that PBL had two internal project types,the Goal Search Project and the Goal Oriented Project with the associated work processes and methods.Furthermore,the Goal Oriented Project could be divided into the Development Project and the Value Creation Project.Understanding and utilizing these project types will improve the competencies of students regarding project management to produce a good outcome in PBL,and help develop the leadership and fundamental skills to be a capable business person.

Schedule Control of Coal Mine Construction Projects Based on Factor Analysis

Schedule management is the crucial capability for large-scale coal mining investors to successful finish the construction project, which could get by the accumulation of the long-time institutional executive force and ability training. By using factor analysis and validation analysis, extracted control factors of schedule management from data have been made in large coal mine construction companies. Some control factors have a greater influence on the schedule management which are the system factor, measures factor, economic controlling factor, behavioral factor, process factor, organization factor, thus the enterprise schedule management system should include the terms of the above factors.

Developing time-management skills in the foreign language classroom

The practical problems all students may face at some point in their college life are procrastination and time management. A recent survey shows that most of the first-year college students with language learning disabilities lack time-management skills. In order to help the students solve these problems, a language teacher should not only help students to develop their language skills, but also help them to learn some techniques of time-management. To ensure that, teachers need to help the students with the setting of clear goals and ways of planning and scheduling time for a balanced lifestyle.