Operational Research

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Analyse and solve some managerial problems in engineering with some of the common operational research methods and techniques
• Build models for simple problems in managerial decision making
• Demonstrate writing skills
• Develop and run computer simulation models
• Structure practical problems
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of operational research techniques for simulation, production scheduling, project management, queueing analysis, simulation, inventory control and decision analysis
• Utilise suitable mathematical methods to solve these models

1. Discrete Event Simulation: design of a simulation model and programme, input modelling including random number generation and random variable generation, output analysis, design of simulation experiments, simulation modelling using the Simul8 software.

2. Production Scheduling: Types of scheduling models, various algorithms for single machine scheduling, list scheduling for parallel machine scheduling, Johnson’s algorithm for flow shop

scheduling, use of heuristic methods.

3. Project Management: Network representation of engineering projects, Critical Path Method for scheduling a project, project scheduling with limited resources, crashing project completion

time.

4. Queuing Theory: dynamics of a queueing system, modelling of some typical basic queues, evaluating average queue length and waiting time.

5. Decision Analysis: pay-off table for one-off decisions and discussion of decision criteria, use of decision trees for more complex environments, decision making based on sampling (with

Bayes Theorem used to calculate posterior probabilities).

6. Inventory Models: the Economic Order Quantity model, including sensitivity analysis, economic production lot size model, quantity discount models, Wagner-Whitin model for

dynamic demand

The module will be taught using a combination of lectures and computer workshops.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.