WorldWideScience

Sample records for benefits schedule rebates

  1. Pharma rebates, pharmacy benefit managers and employer outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Ozden Gür; Mantrala, Murali

    2010-12-01

    Corporate employers contract with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) with the goals of lowering their employee prescription drug coverage costs while maintaining health care quality. However, little is known about how employer-PBM contract elements and brand drugmakers' rebates combine to influence a profit-maximizing PBM's actions, and the impact of those actions on the employer's outcomes. To shed more light on these issues, the authors build and analyze a mathematical simulation model of a competitive pharmaceutical market comprised of one generic and two branded drugs, and involving a PBM contracted by a corporate employer to help it lower prescription drug costs while achieving a minimum desired quality of health care for its employees. The brand drugmakers' rebate offers, the PBM's assignment of drugs to formulary tiers, and the resulting employer outcomes under varying contracts and pharma brand marketing mix environmental scenarios are analyzed to provide insights. The findings include that the pharma brands offer rebates for the PBM's ability to move prescription share away from the unpreferred brand, but reduce these offers when the PBM's contract requires it to proactively influence physicians to prescribe the generic drug alternative. Further, Pareto optimal contracts that provide the highest health benefit for a given employer cost budget for the employer are analyzed to provide managerial implications. They are found to involve strong PBM influence on physician prescribing to discourage unpreferred brands, as well as high patient copayment requirements for unpreferred brands to align the patient prescription fill probability with the formulary, while other copayment requirements provide an instrument to determine the level of desired health benefit-cost tradeoff.

  2. New Britain, Conn. School District will Benefit from $125,000 EPA Rebate for Clean Emission School Buses

    Science.gov (United States)

    The New Britain, Conn. school district will benefit from a $125,000 US EPA rebate that will pay for retrofitted engines on seven older school buses so they would emit fewer pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

  3. Rebates and spreads: pharmacy benefit management practices and corporate citizenship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rentmeester, Christy A; Garis, Robert I

    2008-10-01

    How ought we determine whether businesses in the health care sector profit fairly? One class of companies in the health care sector, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), deserves special consideration. We describe two specific revenue-generating practices--rebates and spread pricing--that account significantly for PBMs' profits but have been neglected in the bioethics and health policy literature as important sources of fiscal waste in our current health care system. We offer analyses of two common cases, consider employers' and employees' vulnerabilities, explore normative assumptions about how markets function, and raise questions about transparency in contract agreements between PBMs and employers. We consider ethical dimensions of PBMs' corporate citizenship in the health care sector and suggest how employers can negotiate more effectively with PBMs.

  4. Footing the bill: the introduction of Medicare Benefits Schedule rebates for podiatry services in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Short Anthony J

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The introduction of Medicare Benefits Schedule items for allied health professionals in 2004 was a pivotal event in the public funding of non-medical primary care services. This commentary seeks to provide supplementary discussion of the article by Menz (Utilisation of podiatry services in Australia under the Medicare Enhanced Primary Care program, 2004-2008 Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 2009, 2:30, by placing these findings within the context of the podiatry profession, clinical decision making and the broader health workforce and government policy.

  5. Chicopee, Mass. School District will Benefit from $200,000 EPA Rebate to Clean Up Emissions from School Buses

    Science.gov (United States)

    A school district in Chicopee., Mass. will benefit from $200,000 from the US EPA that will pay for rebates to retrofit the engines on 10 older school buses so they would emit fewer pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma & lung damage.

  6. How changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule could improve the practice of cardiology and save taxpayer money.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, Richard W; Nasis, Arthur; Sundararajan, Vijaya

    2015-09-21

    Rising health care costs above inflation are placing serious strains on the sustainability of the Australian Medicare system in its current structure. The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), which lists rebates payable to patients for private medical services provided on a fee-for-service basis, is the cornerstone of the Australian health care system. Introduced in the 1980s, the MBS has changed little despite major advances in the evidence base for the practice of cardiology. We outline how we believe sensible changes to the MBS listings for four cardiac services--invasive coronary angiography, computed tomography coronary angiography, stress testing and percutaneous coronary intervention--would improve the clinical practice of cardiology and save substantial amounts of taxpayer money.

  7. Will Medicare Advantage payment reforms impact plan rebates and enrollment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, Lauren Hersch

    2014-01-01

    To assess the relationship between Medicare Advantage (MA) plan rebates and enrollment and simulate the effects of Affordable Care Act (ACA) payment reforms. First difference regressions of county-level MA payment and enrollment data from CMS from 2006 to 2010. A $10 decrease in the per member/per month rebate to MA plans was associated with a 0.20 percentage point (0.9%) decrease in MA penetration (P penetration and a 10% decrease in risk score. ACA reforms are predicted to reduce the level of rebates in lower-spending counties, leading to enrollment decreases of 1.7 to 1.9 percentage points in the lowest-spending counties. The simulation predicts that the disenrollment would come from MA enrollees with higher risk scores. MA enrollment responds to availability of supplemental benefits supported by rebates. ACA provisions designed to lower MA spending will predominantly affect Medicare beneficiaries living in counties where MA plans may be unable to offer a comparable product at a price similar to that of traditional Medicare.

  8. Medicaid Drug Rebate Program Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Product Data for Drugs in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. The rebate drug product data file contains the active drugs that have been reported by participating drug...

  9. Sales Rebate Contracts in Fashion Supply Chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Hung Chiu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We explore in this paper the performance of sales rebate contracts in fashion supply chains. We conduct both analytical and numerical analyses via a mean-variance framework with reference to real empirical data. To be specific, we evaluate the expected profits and variance of profits (risk of the fashion supply chains, fashion retailers, and manufacturers under (1 the currently implemented sales rebate practices, (2 the case without sales rebate, and (3 the theoretical coordination situation (if target sales rebate is adopted. In addition, we analyze how sales effort affects the performances of the supply chain and its agents. Our analysis indicates that the rebate contracts may hurt the retailer and the manufacturer of a fashion supply chain when it is inappropriately set. Moreover, a properly designed sales rebate contract not only can coordinate the supply chain (with retail sales effort but can also improve expected profits and lower the levels of risk for both the manufacturer and the retailer.

  10. Searching for public benefits in solar subsidies: A case study on the Australian government's residential photovoltaic rebate program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macintosh, Andrew; Wilkinson, Deb

    2011-01-01

    The Australian Government ran a renewable energy program in the 2000s that provided rebates to householders who acquired solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. Originally called the Photovoltaic Rebate Program (PVRP), it was rebranded the Solar Homes and Communities Plan (SHCP) in November 2007. This paper evaluates both the PVRP and SHCP using measures of cost-effectiveness and fairness. It finds that the program was a major driver of a more than six-fold increase in PV generation capacity in the 2000s, albeit off a low base. In 2010, solar PV's share of the Australian electricity market was still only 0.1%. The program was also environmentally ineffective and costly, reducing emissions by 0.09 MtCO 2 -e/yr over the life of the rebated PV systems at an average cost of between AU$238 and AU$282/tCO 2 -e. In addition, the data suggest there were equity issues associated with the program, with 66% of all successful applicants residing in postal areas that were rated as medium-high or high on a Socio-economic Status (SES) scale. - Research highlights: → We evaluated a solar photovoltaic (PV) rebate program. → The program was ineffective, reducing emissions by 0.09 MtCO 2 -e/yr. → The average abatement cost was ∼AU$250/tCO 2 -e. → The program had a relatively minor impact as an industry assistance measure. → The distribution of rebates was skewed toward higher SES areas.

  11. Medicare rebate for specialist medical practitioners from physiotherapy referrals: analysis of the potential impact on the Australian healthcare system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrnes, Joshua M; Comans, Tracy A

    2015-02-01

    Abstract To identify and examine the likely impact on referrals to specialist medical practitioners, cost to government and patient out-of-pocket costs by providing a rebate under the Medicare Benefits Scheme to patients who attend a specialist medical practitioner upon referral direct from a physiotherapist. A model was constructed to synthesise the costs and benefits of referral with a rebate. Data to inform the model was obtained from administrative sources and from a direct survey of physiotherapists. Given that six referrals per month are made by physiotherapists for a specialist consultation, allowing direct referral to medical specialists and providing patients with a Medicare rebate would result in a likely cost saving to the government ofup to $13 million per year. A range of sensitivity analyses were conducted with all scenarios resulting in some cost savings. The impact of the proposed policy shift to allow direct referral of patients by physiotherapists to specialist medical practitioners and provide patients with a Medicare rebate would be cost saving.

  12. Do Medicare Advantage Plans Minimize Costs? Investigating the Relationship Between Benchmarks, Costs, and Rebates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuckerman, Stephen; Skopec, Laura; Guterman, Stuart

    2017-12-01

    Medicare Advantage (MA), the program that allows people to receive their Medicare benefits through private health plans, uses a benchmark-and-bidding system to induce plans to provide benefits at lower costs. However, prior research suggests medical costs, profits, and other plan costs are not as low under this system as they might otherwise be. To examine how well the current system encourages MA plans to bid their lowest cost by examining the relationship between costs and bonuses (rebates) and the benchmarks Medicare uses in determining plan payments. Regression analysis using 2015 data for HMO and local PPO plans. Costs and rebates are higher for MA plans in areas with higher benchmarks, and plan costs vary less than benchmarks do. A one-dollar increase in benchmarks is associated with 32-cent-higher plan costs and a 52-cent-higher rebate, even when controlling for market and plan factors that can affect costs. This suggests the current benchmark-and-bidding system allows plans to bid higher than local input prices and other market conditions would seem to warrant. To incentivize MA plans to maximize efficiency and minimize costs, Medicare could change the way benchmarks are set or used.

  13. The effects of rebate contracts on the health care system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graf, Julia

    2014-06-01

    Group purchasing organizations gain increasing importance with respect to the supply of pharmaceutical products and frequently use multiple, exclusive or partially exclusive rebate contracts to exercise market power. Based on a Hotelling model of horizontal and vertical product differentiation, we examine the controversy around whether a superior rebate scheme exists, as far as consumer surplus, firms' profits and total welfare are concerned. We find that firms clearly prefer partially exclusive over multiple, and multiple over exclusive rebate contracts. In contrast, no rebate form exists that lowers total costs per se for the consumers or maximizes total welfare.

  14. Adjusting export tax rebates to reduce the environmental impacts of trade: Lessons from China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Peng; Mao, Xianqiang; Corsetti, Gabriel

    2015-09-15

    Export tax rebates are an important policy instrument for stimulating exports, which many developing countries make use of. However, excessive export tax rebates and inappropriate structural arrangements can lead to over-production in highly polluting industries and cause the environment to deteriorate. This paper, taking China as the study case, tests and verifies the statistical significance of the causal relationship between export tax rebates and pollution emissions. With a computable general equilibrium modeling, the current study further analyzes the effectiveness of export tax rebate adjustments aimed at alleviating environmental pressure for different time periods. It is found that before 2003, export tax rebates primarily promoted exports and boosted foreign exchange reserves, and highly polluting sectors enjoyed above-average export tax rebates, which led to increased pollution emissions. Between 2003 and 2010, the export tax rebate system was reformed to reduce support for the highly polluting export sectors, which led to decreases in emissions. Canceling export tax rebates for highly polluting sectors is shown to be the most favorable policy choice for improving the environmental performance of China's international trade. This study can serve as reference for other developing countries which similarly rely on export tax rebates, so that they can adjust their policies so as to combine economic growth with pollution control. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Potential Rebates Saved by HHS Determinations

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — These estimates are provided from 2010 data. Final amount of rebates will vary with market conditions and may be lower as insurance companies lower premiums for...

  16. Optimal Tax-Timing and Asset Allocation when Tax Rebates on Capital Losses are Limited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marekwica, Marcel

    2012-01-01

    to realize capital gains immediately and pay capital gain taxes to regain the option to use potential future losses against a higher tax rate. This incentive adds an entirely new and as yet unstudied dimension to the portfolio problem. It causes risk averse investors to hold more equity and attain higher......This article studies the portfolio problem with realization-based capital gain taxation when limited amounts of losses qualify for tax rebate payments, as is the case under current US tax law. When the tax rate applicable to realized losses exceeds that on realized capital gains, it can be optimal...... welfare levels than is the case when trading under a tax system that seeks to collect the same amount of taxes, but does not allow for tax rebate payments. This is because the benefit to these investors from having their losses subsidized is greater than the suffering from having profits taxed at a higher...

  17. Conservation tax rebates under scrutiny

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodgers, L.M.

    1990-01-01

    This article describes federal legislative response to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling that rebates offered as incentives by utilities are taxable as gross income. A bill is being introduced that will reverse the situation. Statements from various conservation and industry organizations are offered in support of the bill. The IRS is also reviewing its ruling

  18. Optimal Prices and Trade-in Rebates for Durable, Remanufacturable Products

    OpenAIRE

    Saibal Ray; Tamer Boyaci; Necati Aras

    2005-01-01

    Most durable products have two distinct types of customers: first-time buyers and customers who already own the product, but are willing to replace it with a new one or purchase a second one. Firms usually adopt a price-discrimination policy by offering a trade-in rebate only to the replacement customers to hasten their purchase decisions. Any return flow of products induced by trade-in rebates has the potential to generate revenues through remanufacturing operations. In this paper, we study ...

  19. Manufacturers’ Bids for WIC Infant Formula Rebate Contracts, 2003-2013

    OpenAIRE

    Oliveira, Victor; Davis, David

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is the major purchaser of infant formula in the United States, and its mandatory rebate program saved WIC $1.9 billion in FY 2013. WIC State agencies are required by law to have competitively bid infant formula rebate contracts with infant formula manufacturers. Contracts are awarded to the manufacturer offering the WIC State agency the lowest net price (as determined by the manu...

  20. The Medicaid Rebate: Changes in Oncology Drug Prices After the Affordable Care Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonakdar Tehrani, Ali; Carroll, Norman V

    2017-08-01

    Prescription drug spending is a significant component of Medicaid total expenditures. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes a provision that increases the Medicaid rebate for both brand-name and generic drugs. This study examines the extent to which oncology drug prices changed after the increase in the Medicaid rebate in 2010. A pre-post study design was used to evaluate the correlation between the Medicaid rebate increase and oncology drug prices after 2010 using 2006-2013 State Drug Utilization Data. The results show that the average annual price of top-selling cancer drugs in 2006, adjusted for inflation and secular changes in drug prices, have increased by US$154 and US$235 for branded and competitive brand drugs, respectively, following the 2010 ACA; however, generic oncology drug prices showed no significant changes. The findings from this study indicate that oncology drug prices have increased after the 2010 ACA, and suggest that pharmaceutical companies may have increased their drug prices to offset increases in Medicaid rebates.

  1. Drug Products in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Active drugs that have been reported by participating drug manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. All drugs are identified by National Drug Code...

  2. El criterio de especificidad en la programación en lógica rebatible

    OpenAIRE

    García, Alejandro Javier; Simari, Guillermo Ricardo

    1996-01-01

    La programación en lógica rebatible es una extensión de la programación en lógica que captura aspectos del razonamiento del sentido común que son difíciles de expresar en la programación en lógica tradicional. Los programas lógicos rebatibles (PLR) permiten representar información incompleta y potencialmente inconsistente, y utilizan los conceptos de la argumentación rebatible a fin de poder decidir metas contradictorias. Para esto se utiliza un criterio de preferencia entre derivaciones reba...

  3. How Brazil Transferred Billions to Foreign Coffee Importers: The International Coffee Agreement, Rent Seeking and Export Tax Rebates

    OpenAIRE

    Jarvis, Lovell S.

    2003-01-01

    Rent seeking is well known, but empirical evidence of its effects is relatively rare. This paper analyzes how the domestic and international rent seeking caused Brazil to provide coffee export tax rebates that transferred foreign exchange to coffee importers. Although Brazil was the world's largest exporter, it began to pay export tax rebates to selected coffee importers in 1965 and, by 1988, had paid rebates totaling $8 billion. Brazil explained these rebates as a mechanism to price disc...

  4. How rebates, copayments, and administration costs affect the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferko, Nicole C; Borisova, Natalie; Airia, Parisa; Grima, Daniel T; Thompson, Melissa F

    2012-11-01

    Because of rising drug expenditures, cost considerations have become essential, necessitating the requirement for cost-effectiveness analyses for managed care organizations (MCOs). The study objective is to examine the impact of various drug-cost components, in addition to wholesale acquisition cost (WAC), on the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis therapies. A Markov model of osteoporosis was used to exemplify different drug cost scenarios. We examined the effect of varying rebates for oral bisphosphonates--risedronate and ibandronate--as well as considering the impact of varying copayments and administration costs for intravenous zoledronate. The population modeled was 1,000 American women, > or = 50 years with osteoporosis. Patients were followed for 1 year to reflect an annual budget review of formularies by MCOs. The cost of therapy was based on an adjusted WAC, and is referred to as net drug cost. The total annual cost incurred by an MCO for each drug regimen was calculated using the net drug cost and fracture cost. We estimated cost on a quality adjusted life year (QALY) basis. When considering different rebates, results for risedronate versus ibandronate vary from cost-savings (i.e., costs less and more effective) to approximately $70,000 per QALY. With no risedronate rebate, an ibandronate rebate of approximately 65% is required before cost per QALY surpasses $50,000. With rebates greater than 25% for risedronate, irrespective of ibandronate rebates, results become cost-saving. Results also showed the magnitude of cost savings to the MCO varied by as much as 65% when considering no administration cost and the highest coinsurance rate for zoledronate. Our study showed that cost-effectiveness varies considerably when factors in addition to the WAC are considered. This paper provides recommendations for pharmaceutical manufacturers and MCOs when developing and interpreting such analyses.

  5. Comparison of energy efficiency incentive programs: Rebates and white certificates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Transue, Morghan; Felder, Frank A. [Center for Energy, Economic, and Environmental Policy, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (United States)

    2010-06-15

    With increased interest in energy efficiency in recent years, energy efficiency portfolio standards (EEPS) have gained popularity in state policymaking. This analysis employed New Jersey specific data to compare two incentive based approaches to EEPS implementation: rebates and white certificates. Quantitative modeling suggests that white certificate approaches that depend on market-clearing prices generate much larger upfront incentive outlays than rebate programs. They do not however increase societal burden. Both programs overcome high upfront efficiency measure costs and both recoup the expenses over the long run. Administration costs and participation rates can affect this dynamic however and require additional research to determine which approaches are most cost effective for various energy efficiency measures. (author)

  6. Economic Benefit from Progressive Integration of Scheduling and Control for Continuous Chemical Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Logan D. R. Beal

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Performance of integrated production scheduling and advanced process control with disturbances is summarized and reviewed with four progressive stages of scheduling and control integration and responsiveness to disturbances: open-loop segregated scheduling and control, closed-loop segregated scheduling and control, open-loop scheduling with consideration of process dynamics, and closed-loop integrated scheduling and control responsive to process disturbances and market fluctuations. Progressive economic benefit from dynamic rescheduling and integrating scheduling and control is shown on a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR benchmark application in closed-loop simulations over 24 h. A fixed horizon integrated scheduling and control formulation for multi-product, continuous chemical processes is utilized, in which nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC and continuous-time scheduling are combined.

  7. Segmenting consumers based on how they spend a tax rebate: An analysis of the Australian stimulus payment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oppewal, H.; Paas, L.J.; Crouch, G.I.; Huybers, T.

    2010-01-01

    Tax rebates are instruments for stimulating consumer spending during recessions. Previous research assessed whether consumers use tax rebates for saving or, alternatively, purchasing goods and services. These studies concentrated on aggregate estimations. Based on the saving motive hierarchy

  8. Health Information Sources, Perceived Vaccination Benefits, and Maintenance of Childhood Vaccination Schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Juwon; Shah, Dhavan V

    2018-06-05

    Parental concerns over the safety or necessity of childhood vaccination have increased over the past decades. At the same time, there has been a proliferation of vaccine-related information available through a range of health information sources. This study investigates the associations between evaluations of health information sources, parental perceptions of childhood vaccination benefits, and the maintenance of vaccination schedules for their children. Specifically, this study aims to (a) incorporate social media into the battery of health information sources and (b) differentiate households with a childhood autism diagnosis and those without, given unsubstantiated but persistent concerns about vaccine safety and autism. Analyzing a sample of U.S. households, a total of 4,174 parents who have at least one child under the age of 18 were analyzed, including 138 of parents of households with a childhood autism diagnosis. Results show that the more the parents value interpersonal communication and magazines as sources of health information, the more they perceive vaccination benefits, and the more the value they put on television, the better they keep vaccination schedules up-to-date for their children. On the other hand, social media are negatively associated with their perceptions of vaccination benefits. Although parents of children diagnosed with autism are less likely to perceive vaccination benefits, no interaction effects with evaluations of health information sources are found on parental perceptions of vaccination benefits or maintenance of schedules.

  9. Bonus and Rebate: Perception of Exclusive GSM Dealers and Their Salesmen in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melik Karabiyikoglu

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to study bonus and rebate for exclusive dealers in GSM sector in Turkey, for which operators and handset manufacturers provide special incentives to dealers for exceeding specific sales targets. They develop a theoretical model of dealers and manufacturer behavior based on observations about key aspects of the mobile phone market. The analysis provides important insights about sales bonus. For example, rebate is not preferred by the owners of dealers instead of bonuses. The authors find empirical support when they test the theoretical results.

  10. Who benefits from family support? Work schedule and family differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennings, Kristen S; Sinclair, Robert R; Mohr, Cynthia D

    2016-01-01

    Prior research has demonstrated the benefits of family-supportive organization perceptions (FSOP) for reducing stress, increasing satisfaction, and increasing worker commitment; however, less research has studied health outcomes or possible differences in the effects of FSOP based on worker characteristics. The present study examined relationships between FSOP and health outcomes, as well as how those relationships may depend on work schedule and family differences. Using a sample of 330 acute care nurses, the findings indicated that FSOP predicted several health and well-being outcomes obtained 9 months later. Further, the relationships between FSOP and the outcome variables depended on some work schedule and family differences. In terms of family differences, FSOP was most strongly related to life satisfaction for those who cared for dependent adults. The relationship between FSOP and health outcomes of depression, musculoskeletal pain, and physical health symptoms were generally significant for workers with dependent children, but not significant for workers with no children. Regarding schedule differences, the relationship between FSOP and life satisfaction was significant for those on nonstandard (evening/night) shifts but not significant for standard day shift workers; however, there were no differences in FSOP relationships by number of hours worked per week. The findings demonstrate that FSOP may benefit some employees more than others. Such differences need to be incorporated into both future work-family theory development and into efforts to document the effectiveness of family-supportive policies, programs, and practices. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Summary of expenditures of rebates from the low-level radioactive waste surcharge escrow account for calendar year 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-06-01

    This report is submitted in response to Title 1 of the 1980 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, as amended, (the Act). The report summarizes expenditures made by compact regions and unaffiliated states during calendar year 1995 of surcharge rebates from the July 1, 1986, January 1, 1988, and January 1, 1990, milestones, and the January 1, 1993, deadline. Section 5(d)(2)(A) of the Act requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to administer a surcharge escrow account. This account consists of a portion of the surcharge fees paid by generators of low-level radioactive waste in nonsited compact regions (compact regions currently without disposal sites) and nonmember states (states without disposal sites that are not members of compact regions) to the three sited states (states with operating disposal facilities--Nevada, South Carolina, and Washington) for the use of facilities in sited states through the end of 1992. In administering the surcharge escrow account, the Act requires DOE to: (1) Invest the funds in interest-bearing United States Government securities with the highest available yield; (2) Determine eligibility for rebates of the funds by evaluating compact region and state progress toward developing new disposal sites against the milestone requirements set forth in the Act; (3) Disburse the collected rebates and accrued interest to eligible compact regions, states, or generators; (4) Assess compliance of rebate expenditures in accordance with the conditions and limitations prescribed in the Act; and (5) Submit a report annually to Congress summarizing rebate expenditures by state and compact region and assessing the compliance of each such state or compact region with the requirement for expenditure of the rebates as provided in section 5(d)(2)(E) of the Act

  12. Estimation of Airline Benefits from Avionics Upgrade under Preferential Merge Re-sequence Scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotegawa, Tatsuya; Cayabyab, Charlene Anne; Almog, Noam

    2013-01-01

    Modernization of the airline fleet avionics is essential to fully enable future technologies and procedures for increasing national airspace system capacity. However in the current national airspace system, system-wide benefits gained by avionics upgrade are not fully directed to aircraft/airlines that upgrade, resulting in slow fleet modernization rate. Preferential merge re-sequence scheduling is a best-equipped-best-served concept designed to incentivize avionics upgrade among airlines by allowing aircraft with new avionics (high-equipped) to be re-sequenced ahead of aircraft without the upgrades (low-equipped) at enroute merge waypoints. The goal of this study is to investigate the potential benefits gained or lost by airlines under a high or low-equipped fleet scenario if preferential merge resequence scheduling is implemented.

  13. The Three R's of Utility Savings: Rate Reduction, Rebates and Retrofit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petiunas, Raymond V.

    1993-01-01

    An effective way to increase electricity energy savings for school districts is to integrate rate case participation (rate reduction) with conservation and load-management efforts (rebates) and retrofit operations, to obtain a total energy cost reduction package. Describes how a Pennsylvania consortium of school districts saved its member…

  14. Financial risk management of pharmacy benefits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saikami, D

    1997-10-01

    Financial risk management of pharmacy benefits in integrated health systems is explained. A managed care organization should assume financial risk for pharmacy benefits only if it can manage the risk. Horizontally integrated organizations often do not have much control over the management of drug utilization and costs. Vertically integrated organizations have the greatest ability to manage pharmacy financial risk; virtual integration may also be compatible. Contracts can be established in which the provider is incentivized or placed at partial or full risk. The main concerns that health plans have with respect to pharmacy capitation are formulary management and the question of who should receive rebates from manufacturers. The components needed to managed pharmacy financial risk depend on the type of contract negotiated. Health-system pharmacists are uniquely positioned to take advantage of opportunities opening up through pharmacy risk contracting. Functions most organizations must provide when assuming pharmacy financial risk can be divided into internal and external categories. Internally performed functions include formulary management, clinical pharmacy services and utilization management, and utilization reports for physicians. Functions that can be outsourced include claims processing and administration, provider- and customer support services, and rebates. Organizations that integrate the pharmacy benefit across the health care continuum will be more effective in controlling costs and improving outcomes than organizations that handle this benefit as separate from others. Patient care should not focus on payment mechanisms and unit costs but on developing superior processes and systems that improve health care.

  15. An Empirical Study of the Impact of China’s Export Tax Rebates on RMB Appreciation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Degong Ma

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available While the issue of RMB (Renminbi, Chinese Yuan revaluation became the focus of world attention in 2003, the reform of the RMB exchange rate regime in 2005 didn't fundamentally solve the RMB appreciation problem, and even in 2008 the global financial crisis made RMB appreciation face new challenges and risks. It appears that the rise in RMB value is caused by supply exceeding demand in China's foreign exchange market; however, intrinsically it is due to the asymmetry iWhile the issue of RMB (Renminbi, Chinese Yuan revaluation became the focus of world attention in 2003, the reform of the RMB exchange rate regime in 2005 didn't fundamentally solve the RMB appreciation problem, and even in 2008 the global financial crisis made RMB appreciation face new challenges and risks. It appears that the rise in RMB value is caused by supply exceeding demand in China's foreign exchange market; however, intrinsically it is due to the asymmetry in RMB exchange rate formation mechanism. The export tax rebates policy implemented by Chinese government is one of the leading causes of the asymmetry. This study constructs a transmission model between export tax rebates and foreign exchange rates, and applies the Granger Test to validate the causality between kernel variables based on correlative data from 1994-2011, and uses the error correction method to analyze the quantified relations of kernel variables, and finally gets the contribution rate of export tax rebates to RMB appreciation.

  16. Ethnography of Cool Roof Retrofits: The Role of Rebates in the Materials Selection Process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mazur-Stommen, Susan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2011-02-01

    In the summer of 2010, ethnographic research was conducted with nine households in the Bay Area and Sacramento region. The purpose of this task was to collect methodologically grounded insights into how and why consumers chose the cool roofing material they selected. These nine households comprised fifteen respondents, and their dependents. They were selected from among a pool of respondents to a mail solicitation of all Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Pacific Gas and Electric customers who had received a rebate for their cool roof retrofit. Consumers are uniformly happy with their cool roof retrofits. Consumers typically stayed very close to the aesthetic of the original roof style. Price was not a primary concern, while longevity was paramount. Consumers did not use roofing price, nor energy savings (with one exception), in tracking return on investment through energy savings. The utility rebate had little role to play in terms of incentivizing customers to choose cool materials. Contractors were critical partners in the decision-­making process.

  17. 76 FR 28106 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-13

    ... PHLX LLC Relating to Rebates and Fees for Adding and Removing Liquidity May 9, 2011. Pursuant to... its Fee Schedule titled ``Rebates and Fees for Adding and Removing Liquidity in Select Symbols. \\3\\ A... the Exchange's Fee Schedule, entitled ``Complex Order.'' Currently, the Fees for Removing Liquidity...

  18. 77 FR 1769 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-11

    ... Stock Exchange LLC To Amend the Schedule of Rebates Paid to Supplemental Liquidity Providers for Providing Liquidity January 5, 2012. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934... its Price List to revise its schedule of rebates paid to Supplemental Liquidity Providers (``SLPs...

  19. Summary of expenditures of rebates from the low-level radioactive waste surcharge escrow account for calendar year 1989: Report to Congress in response to Public Law 99-240

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-06-01

    This response is submitted in response to the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (the Act), Public Law 99-240. The report summarizes expenditures made during the calendar year 1989 of surcharge rebates from the July 1, 1986, milestones. Title I of the Act requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to administer a Surcharge Escrow Account. This account consists of a portion of the surcharge fees paid by generators of low-level radioactive waste in nonsited compacts (regional compacts currently without operating disposal sites) and nonmember States (States without disposal sites that are not members of compacts) to the three States with operating disposal facilities (Nevada, South Carolina, and Washington) (sited States) for using their disposal facilities. In administering the Surcharge Escrow Account, the Act requires DOE to: invest the funds in interest-bearing United States Government securities; determine eligibility of rebates of the funds by evaluating State and compact progress toward developing new disposal sites against milestones set forth in the Act; disburse the collected rebates and interest; assess compliance of rebate expenditures with the limitations prescribed in the Act; and submit a report annually to Congress summarizing rebate expenditures by States and regions. 5 tabs

  20. 77 FR 22034 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-12

    ... Change Relating to Rebates for Adding and Removing Liquidity in SPY April 6, 2012. Pursuant to Section 19... the Exchange's Pricing Schedule is entitled ``Rebates and Fees for Adding and Removing Liquidity in... Adding Liquidity of $0.32 per contract and a Customer Complex Order Rebate for Removing Liquidity of $0...

  1. 75 FR 13618 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-22

    ... Rule Change Relating to Fees and Rebates for Adding and Removing Liquidity March 12, 2010. Pursuant to... fees and rebates for adding and removing liquidity. While changes to the Fee Schedule pursuant to this... to the fees and rebates for adding and removing liquidity. Currently, single contra-side orders that...

  2. 77 FR 74699 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-17

    ... Change Relating to Rebates and Fees for Adding and Removing Liquidity December 11, 2012. Pursuant to... Schedule entitled ``Rebates and Fees for Adding and Removing Liquidity in Select Symbols'' in order to... Adding Liquidity from $0.30 to $0.32 per contract, (2) create a new Complex Order Rebate for Removing...

  3. Preliminary assessment of the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Offer program using IPMVP guidelines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaiser, Mark J.; Pulsipher, Allan G. [Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana State University, Energy Coast and Environment Building, Nicholson Extension Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States)

    2010-02-15

    The Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Offer (HERO) is a residential energy conservation program established in 1999 to provide rebates for qualified applicants to build new homes that are more energy efficient or improve the energy efficiency of existing homes. Energy conservation programs require careful evaluation because of the high cost to implement the measures and the expectation that they will reduce energy use. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that residential energy conservation measures in a hot and humid climate can be evaluated using the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), a best practice methodology commonly used in industrial and commercial performance-based contracts, but rarely, if ever, applied to residential programs. Using a random sample of 60 HERO participants, we were able to construct statistically significant electricity consumption baseline models for 90% of households. We determined that more than half of the sample participants consumed more electricity after their efficiency improvement, with an average net household savings of 172 kWh/yr, about 1% pre-retrofit consumption. A description of the baseline model construction, preliminary program evaluation, and recommendations are provided. All program conclusions are considered preliminary until a larger and more comprehensive study is conducted. (author)

  4. Preliminary assessment of the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Offer program using IPMVP guidelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaiser, Mark J.; Pulsipher, Allan G.

    2010-01-01

    The Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Offer (HERO) is a residential energy conservation program established in 1999 to provide rebates for qualified applicants to build new homes that are more energy efficient or improve the energy efficiency of existing homes. Energy conservation programs require careful evaluation because of the high cost to implement the measures and the expectation that they will reduce energy use. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that residential energy conservation measures in a hot and humid climate can be evaluated using the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), a best practice methodology commonly used in industrial and commercial performance-based contracts, but rarely, if ever, applied to residential programs. Using a random sample of 60 HERO participants, we were able to construct statistically significant electricity consumption baseline models for 90% of households. We determined that more than half of the sample participants consumed more electricity after their efficiency improvement, with an average net household savings of 172 kWh/yr, about 1% pre-retrofit consumption. A description of the baseline model construction, preliminary program evaluation, and recommendations are provided. All program conclusions are considered preliminary until a larger and more comprehensive study is conducted.

  5. Feebates, rebates and gas-guzzler taxes: a study of incentives for increased fuel economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greene, D.L.; Patterson, P.D.; Singh, Margaret; Li Jia

    2005-01-01

    US fuel economy standards have not been changed significantly in 20 years. Feebates are a market-based alternative in which vehicles with fuel consumption rates above a 'pivot point' are charged fees while vehicles below receive rebates. By choice of pivot points, feebate systems can be made revenue neutral. Feebates have been analyzed before. This study re-examines feebates using recent data, assesses how the undervaluing of fuel economy by consumers might affect their efficacy, tests sensitivity to the cost of fuel economy technology and price elasticities of vehicle demand, and adds assessments of gas-guzzler taxes or rebates alone. A feebate rate of $500 per 0.01 gallon per mile (GPM) produces a 16 percent increase in fuel economy, while a $1000 per 0.01 GPM results in a 29 percent increase, even if consumers count only the first 3 years of fuel savings. Unit sales decline by about 0.5 percent but sales revenues increase because the added value of fuel economy technologies outweighs the decrease in sales. In all cases, the vast majority of fuel economy increase is due to adoption of fuel economy technologies rather than shifts in sales

  6. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the primary motor cortex does not enhance the learning benefits of self-controlled feedback schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Michael J; Smith, Victoria; Carlsen, Anthony N; Ste-Marie, Diane M

    2018-05-01

    A distinct learning advantage has been shown when participants control their knowledge of results (KR) scheduling during practice compared to when the same KR schedule is imposed on the learner without choice (i.e., yoked schedules). Although the learning advantages of self-controlled KR schedules are well-documented, the brain regions contributing to these advantages remain unknown. Identifying key brain regions would not only advance our theoretical understanding of the mechanisms underlying self-controlled learning advantages, but would also highlight regions that could be targeted in more applied settings to boost the already beneficial effects of self-controlled KR schedules. Here, we investigated whether applying anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the primary motor cortex (M1) would enhance the typically found benefits of learning a novel motor skill with a self-controlled KR schedule. Participants practiced a spatiotemporal task in one of four groups using a factorial combination of KR schedule (self-controlled vs. yoked) and tDCS (anodal vs. sham). Testing occurred on two consecutive days with spatial and temporal accuracy measured on both days and learning was assessed using 24-h retention and transfer tests without KR. All groups improved their performance in practice and a significant effect for practicing with a self-controlled KR schedule compared to a yoked schedule was found for temporal accuracy in transfer, but a similar advantage was not evident in retention. There were no significant differences as a function of KR schedule or tDCS for spatial accuracy in retention or transfer. The lack of a significant tDCS effect suggests that M1 may not strongly contribute to self-controlled KR learning advantages; however, caution is advised with this interpretation as typical self-controlled learning benefits were not strongly replicated in the present experiment.

  7. Government Subsidy for Remanufacturing or Carbon Tax Rebate: Which Is Better for Firms and a Low-Carbon Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Shu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The government as a policy maker wishing to promote remanufacturing and proper disposal of hazardous old products which are harmful to environment has taken many actions, ranging from carbon regulation and financial incentives such as trade-in subsidy. However, carbon tax can result in loss of profit for firms to some degree, so the government has to give other subsidy to balance the profits and carbon emission. Thus, this article investigates two subsidy mechanisms: remanufacturing subsidy or tax rebate. The optimal pricing and production decision under these policies are examined. Our results show that carbon tax has a great impact on pricing strategies. Trade-in subsidy can encourage customers to replace their existing products with new and remanufactured products. Both remanufacture subsidy and tax rebate are beneficial to manufacturer and can further promote remanufacturing development.

  8. 78 FR 65430 - Notice of Rate To Be Used for Federal Debt Collection, and Discount and Rebate Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-31

    ... assessing interest charges for outstanding debts owed to the Government (The Debt Collection Act of 1982, as... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Fiscal Service Notice of Rate To Be Used for Federal Debt Collection... rate to be used for Federal debt collection, and discount and rebate evaluation. SUMMARY: The Secretary...

  9. Range Scheduling Aid (RSA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, J. R.; Pulvermacher, M. K.

    1991-01-01

    Range Scheduling Aid (RSA) is presented in the form of the viewgraphs. The following subject areas are covered: satellite control network; current and new approaches to range scheduling; MITRE tasking; RSA features; RSA display; constraint based analytic capability; RSA architecture; and RSA benefits.

  10. 78 FR 69472 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-19

    ... Order Flow \\47\\ and fee caps.\\48\\ In addition, there are other examples of market segmentation evidenced...'', to offer its market participants an additional rebate. While changes to the Pricing Schedule pursuant... rebates available to market participants that transact Customer-denominated orders on Phlx. Specifically...

  11. 75 FR 22881 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-30

    ... Rule Change Relating to Fees and Rebates for Adding and Removing Liquidity April 22, 2010. Pursuant to... removing liquidity for options overlying various select symbols. While changes to the Fee Schedule pursuant... rebates for adding and removing liquidity by eliminating the fees for adding liquidity. Specifically, the...

  12. Demand response scheme based on lottery-like rebates

    KAUST Repository

    Schwartz, Galina A.; Tembine, Hamidou; Amin, Saurabh; Sastry, S. Shankar

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we develop a novel mechanism for reducing volatility of residential demand for electricity. We construct a reward-based (rebate) mechanism that provides consumers with incentives to shift their demand to off-peak time. In contrast to most other mechanisms proposed in the literature, the key feature of our mechanism is its modest requirements on user preferences, i.e., it does not require exact knowledge of user responsiveness to rewards for shifting their demand from the peak to the off-peak time. Specifically, our mechanism utilizes a probabilistic reward structure for users who shift their demand to the off-peak time, and is robust to incomplete information about user demand and/or risk preferences. We approach the problem from the public good perspective, and demonstrate that the mechanism can be implemented via lottery-like schemes. Our mechanism permits to reduce the distribution losses, and thus improve efficiency of electricity distribution. Finally, the mechanism can be readily incorporated into the emerging demand response schemes (e.g., the time-of-day pricing, and critical peak pricing schemes), and has security and privacy-preserving properties.

  13. Demand response scheme based on lottery-like rebates

    KAUST Repository

    Schwartz, Galina A.

    2014-08-24

    In this paper, we develop a novel mechanism for reducing volatility of residential demand for electricity. We construct a reward-based (rebate) mechanism that provides consumers with incentives to shift their demand to off-peak time. In contrast to most other mechanisms proposed in the literature, the key feature of our mechanism is its modest requirements on user preferences, i.e., it does not require exact knowledge of user responsiveness to rewards for shifting their demand from the peak to the off-peak time. Specifically, our mechanism utilizes a probabilistic reward structure for users who shift their demand to the off-peak time, and is robust to incomplete information about user demand and/or risk preferences. We approach the problem from the public good perspective, and demonstrate that the mechanism can be implemented via lottery-like schemes. Our mechanism permits to reduce the distribution losses, and thus improve efficiency of electricity distribution. Finally, the mechanism can be readily incorporated into the emerging demand response schemes (e.g., the time-of-day pricing, and critical peak pricing schemes), and has security and privacy-preserving properties.

  14. Analysis of Issues for Project Scheduling by Multiple, Dispersed Schedulers (distributed Scheduling) and Requirements for Manual Protocols and Computer-based Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Stephen F.

    1991-01-01

    Although computerized operations have significant gains realized in many areas, one area, scheduling, has enjoyed few benefits from automation. The traditional methods of industrial engineering and operations research have not proven robust enough to handle the complexities associated with the scheduling of realistic problems. To address this need, NASA has developed the computer-aided scheduling system (COMPASS), a sophisticated, interactive scheduling tool that is in wide-spread use within NASA and the contractor community. Therefore, COMPASS provides no explicit support for the large class of problems in which several people, perhaps at various locations, build separate schedules that share a common pool of resources. This research examines the issue of distributing scheduling, as applied to application domains characterized by the partial ordering of tasks, limited resources, and time restrictions. The focus of this research is on identifying issues related to distributed scheduling, locating applicable problem domains within NASA, and suggesting areas for ongoing research. The issues that this research identifies are goals, rescheduling requirements, database support, the need for communication and coordination among individual schedulers, the potential for expert system support for scheduling, and the possibility of integrating artificially intelligent schedulers into a network of human schedulers.

  15. Application of fee-rebate system to foster urban waste reduction and recovery; Aplicacion de sistemas de bonificacion-penalizacion para incentivar la reduccion y el reciclaje en mancomunidades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Puig Ventosa, I.

    2002-07-01

    Waste management facilities are often shared among different municipalities as a way to manage wastes more efficiently. Usually, management costs are assigned to each municipality considering population or total waste amount, regardless of important environmental aspects such as per capita waste generation or results in composting and recycling. This article presents a fee bate (fee + rebate) system aimed to foster urban waste reduction and recovery. The proposal suggests that municipalities achieving better results in their waste management performance (from an ecological viewpoint) be recompensed with a rebate obtained from a fee charged to those municipalities taking less care of the environment. (Author) 7 refs.

  16. Targeting water and energy conservation using big data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escriva-Bou, A.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Lund, J. R.

    2016-12-01

    Water conservation is often the most cost effective source of additional water supply for water stressed regions to maintain supply reliability with increasing population and/or demands, or shorter-term droughts. In previous research we demonstrated how including energy savings of conserved water can increase willingness to adopt conservation measures, at the same time that increases energy and GHG emissions savings. But the capacity to save water, energy and GHG emissions depends fundamentally in the economic benefits for customers and utilities. Utilities have traditionally used rebates, subsidies or incentives to enhance water conservation. But the economic benefits originated by these rebates depend on the actual savings of the water, energy and GHG emissions. A crucial issue that is not considered in the financial analysis of these rebates is the heterogeneity in water consumption, resulting in rebating households that actually do not need improvements in certain appliances. Smart meters with end-use disaggregation allow to consider this heterogeneity and to target rebates. By using an optimization approach that minimizes water and energy residential costs—accounting for retrofit costs and individual benefits according to previous levels of consumption—we are able to assess economically optimal rebate programs both for customers and utilities. Three programs are considered: first, same economic incentives are provided to all households and then they do their optimal decisions; second, traditional appliance-focused rebates are assessed; and third, utilities provide only rebates to those households that maximize water, energy or GHG emissions savings. Results show that the most economically efficient options for households are not the best options for utilities, and that traditional appliance-focused rebates are much less optimal than targeted rebates.

  17. A dynamic approach to vehicle scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D. Huisman (Dennis); R. Freling (Richard); A.P.M. Wagelmans (Albert)

    2001-01-01

    textabstractThis paper presents a dynamic approach to the vehicle scheduling problem. We discuss the potential benefit of our approach compared to the traditional one, where the vehicle scheduling problem is solved only once for a whole period and the travel times are assumed to be fixed. In our

  18. Benefit Opportunities for Integrated Surface and Airspace Departure Scheduling: A Study of Operations at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coppenbarger, Rich; Jung, Yoon; Kozon, Tom; Farrahi, Amir; Malik, Wakar; Lee, Hanbong; Chevalley, Eric; Kistler, Matt

    2016-01-01

    NASA is collaborating with the FAA and aviation industry to develop and demonstrate new capabilities that integrate arrival, departure, and surface air-traffic operations. The concept relies on trajectory-based departure scheduling and collaborative decision making to reduce delays and uncertainties in taxi and climb operations. The paper describes the concept and benefit mechanisms aimed at improving flight efficiency and predictability while maintaining or improving operational throughput. The potential impact of the technology is studied and discussed through a quantitative analysis of relevant shortfalls at the site identified for initial deployment and demonstration in 2017: Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Results from trajectory analysis indicate substantial opportunity to reduce taxi delays for both departures and arrivals by metering departures at the gate in a manner that maximizes throughput while adhering to takeoff restrictions due mostly to airspace constraints. Substantial taxi-out delay reduction is shown for flights subject to departure restrictions stemming from traffic flow management initiatives. Opportunities to improve the predictability of taxi, takeoff, and climb operations are examined and their potential impact on airline scheduling decisions and air-traffic forecasting is discussed. In addition, the potential to improve throughput with departure scheduling that maximizes use of available runway and airspace capacity is analyzed.

  19. Perceptions of Teachers in South Florida Toward Block Scheduling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdy, Mona; Urich, Ted

    1998-01-01

    A study was conducted at two metropolitan South Florida high schools to determine perceptions of 100 teachers concerning block scheduling. Teachers felt that the 4 X 4 block schedule contained too many time gaps for teaching foreign languages, English, and math. Teachers believed block schedules benefitted advanced students more than others and…

  20. SPANR planning and scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freund, Richard F.; Braun, Tracy D.; Kussow, Matthew; Godfrey, Michael; Koyama, Terry

    2001-07-01

    SPANR (Schedule, Plan, Assess Networked Resources) is (i) a pre-run, off-line planning and (ii) a runtime, just-in-time scheduling mechanism. It is designed to support primarily commercial applications in that it optimizes throughput rather than individual jobs (unless they have highest priority). Thus it is a tool for a commercial production manager to maximize total work. First the SPANR Planner is presented showing the ability to do predictive 'what-if' planning. It can answer such questions as, (i) what is the overall effect of acquiring new hardware or (ii) what would be the effect of a different scheduler. The ability of the SPANR Planner to formulate in advance tree-trimming strategies is useful in several commercial applications, such as electronic design or pharmaceutical simulations. The SPANR Planner is demonstrated using a variety of benchmarks. The SPANR Runtime Scheduler (RS) is briefly presented. The SPANR RS can provide benefit for several commercial applications, such as airframe design and financial applications. Finally a design is shown whereby SPANR can provide scheduling advice to most resource management systems.

  1. 20 CFR 402.165 - Fee schedule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... requester for the services rendered. (i) Fee for copies of printed materials. When extra copies of printed... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fee schedule. 402.165 Section 402.165 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS TO THE PUBLIC...

  2. Social Diffusion of Water Conservation: A Study of Residential Turf Rebate Programs in Orange County, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duong, K.; Grant, S. B.; Rippy, M.; Feldman, D.

    2017-12-01

    From 2011 to 2017, the combination of record low precipitation and extreme warm temperatures resulted in the most severe drought in California's written history. In April 2015, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order mandating a statewide 25% reduction in potable urban water usage. Under such circumstances, outdoor watering is an obvious target for restriction, because it can account for a large fraction of total domestic water usage, up to 50% in the arid southwest [Syme et. al 2004, Cameron et. al 2012]. In this study we analyzed one such effort, in which the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) in Orange County (California) offered a financial incentive through a turf rebate program to encourage Irvine residents to replace turf grass with drought tolerant landscaping. We focused specifically on the number of residents who applied to the turf rebate program. Our hypothesis was that the observed application rate (number of applicants per month) is influenced by a combination of (a) financial incentives issued by IRWD, (b) drought awareness, and (c) the fraction of neighbors that have already applied to the program (a phenomenon that can be described quantitatively through models of social contagion or social diffusion [Karsai et. al 2014]). Our preliminary results indicate that applications to the program occurred in geographic "hot spots", consistent with the idea that early adopters may have influenced neighbors to retrofit their lawns. We are currently evaluating the geographic, demographic, and temporal drivers that influence the rate of spontaneous adoption, the rate of adoption under influence, and the total size of the susceptible population. Overall, our goal is to identify the key factors that contribute to early rapid uptake of conservation behavior, and the rapid diffusion of that behavior through the community.

  3. Squeezing the middleman: ending underhanded dealing in the pharmacy benefit management industry through regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meador, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies are the middlemen of the pharmaceutical industry, designing plans for sponsors and insurers and pushing the products of manufacturers. Their unique position can often create conflicts of interest, which has been the basis of much litigation. This article reviews the structure of the PBM industry and analyzes concerns arising from its handling of prescription drug pricing, manufacturer rebates and discounts, and mail order pharmacies. After surveying several legislative proposals, it concludes with a comprehensive outline for legislation to eliminate underhanded dealing in the industry and lower the cost of prescription drugs.

  4. Endogenous scheduling preferences and congestion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fosgerau, Mogens; Small, Kenneth

    2010-01-01

    and leisure, but agglomeration economies at home and at work lead to scheduling preferences forming endogenously. Using bottleneck congestion technology, we obtain an equilibrium queuing pattern consistent with a general version of the Vickrey bottleneck model. However, the policy implications are different....... Compared to the predictions of an analyst observing untolled equilibrium and taking scheduling preferences as exogenous, we find that both the optimal capacity and the marginal external cost of congestion have changed. The benefits of tolling are greater, and the optimal time varying toll is different....

  5. The applicability of knowledge-based scheduling to the utilities industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshimoto, G.; Gargan, R. Jr.; Duggan, P.

    1992-01-01

    The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Nuclear Power Division, has identified the three major goals of high technology applications for nuclear power plants. These goals are to enhance power production through increasing power generation efficiency, to increase productivity of the operations, and to reduce the threats to the safety of the plant. Our project responds to the second goal by demonstrating that significant productivity increases can be achieved for outage maintenance operations based on existing knowledge-based scheduling technology. Its use can also mitigate threats to potential safety problems by means of the integration of risk assessment features into the scheduler. The scheduling approach uses advanced techniques enabling the automation of the routine scheduling decision process that previously was handled by people. The process of removing conflicts in scheduling is automated. This is achieved by providing activity representations that allow schedulers to express a variety of different scheduling constraints and by implementing scheduling mechanisms that simulate kinds of processes that humans use to find better solutions from a large number of possible solutions. This approach allows schedulers to express detailed constraints between activities and other activities, resources (material and personnel), and requirements that certain states exist for their execution. Our scheduler has already demonstrated its benefit to improving the shuttle processing flow management at Kennedy Space Center. Knowledge-based scheduling techniques should be examined by utilities industry researchers, developers, operators and management for application to utilities planning problems because of its great cost benefit potential. 4 refs., 4 figs

  6. Technology for planning and scheduling under complex constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alguire, Karen M.; Pedro Gomes, Carla O.

    1997-02-01

    Within the context of law enforcement, several problems fall into the category of planning and scheduling under constraints. Examples include resource and personnel scheduling, and court scheduling. In the case of court scheduling, a schedule must be generated considering available resources, e.g., court rooms and personnel. Additionally, there are constraints on individual court cases, e.g., temporal and spatial, and between different cases, e.g., precedence. Finally, there are overall objectives that the schedule should satisfy such as timely processing of cases and optimal use of court facilities. Manually generating a schedule that satisfies all of the constraints is a very time consuming task. As the number of court cases and constraints increases, this becomes increasingly harder to handle without the assistance of automatic scheduling techniques. This paper describes artificial intelligence (AI) technology that has been used to develop several high performance scheduling applications including a military transportation scheduler, a military in-theater airlift scheduler, and a nuclear power plant outage scheduler. We discuss possible law enforcement applications where we feel the same technology could provide long-term benefits to law enforcement agencies and their operations personnel.

  7. Staff Scheduling for Inbound Call and Customer Contact Centers

    OpenAIRE

    Fukunaga, Alex; Hamilton, Ed; Fama, Jason; Andre, David; Matan, Ofer; Nourbakhsh, Illah

    2002-01-01

    The staff scheduling problem is a critical problem in the call center (or, more generally, customer contact center) industry. This article describes DIRECTOR, a staff scheduling system for contact centers. DIRECTOR is a constraint-based system that uses AI search techniques to generate schedules that satisfy and optimize a wide range of constraints and service-quality metrics. DIRECTOR has successfully been deployed at more than 800 contact centers, with significant measurable benefits, some ...

  8. Second unit scheduling concerns on a dual-unit nuclear project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Block, H.R.; Mazzini, R.A.

    1978-01-01

    This paper explores the planning and scheduling problems of Unit 2 of the Susquehanna steam electric station. The causes of these problems and methods to avoid or mitigate their consequences are discussed. The Susquehanna steam electric station has two boiling water reactors rated at 1,100 MW each. Topics considered include cost factors, structures, equipment, engineering and home office, construction services, completion data phasing, work sequencing, structural dependences, and segregation. Substatial cost and schedule benefits can result if two nuclear units are designed and constructed as one integral station, and if maximum sharing of facilities and services between the units occurs. It is concluded that the cost benefits of highly integrated dual unit construction outweigh the schedule and logistical problems caused by that approach

  9. Knowledge-based scheduling of arrival aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krzeczowski, K.; Davis, T.; Erzberger, H.; Lev-Ram, I.; Bergh, C.

    1995-01-01

    A knowledge-based method for scheduling arrival aircraft in the terminal area has been implemented and tested in real-time simulation. The scheduling system automatically sequences, assigns landing times, and assigns runways to arrival aircraft by utilizing continuous updates of aircraft radar data and controller inputs. The scheduling algorithms is driven by a knowledge base which was obtained in over two thousand hours of controller-in-the-loop real-time simulation. The knowledge base contains a series of hierarchical 'rules' and decision logic that examines both performance criteria, such as delay reduction, as well as workload reduction criteria, such as conflict avoidance. The objective of the algorithms is to devise an efficient plan to land the aircraft in a manner acceptable to the air traffic controllers. This paper will describe the scheduling algorithms, give examples of their use, and present data regarding their potential benefits to the air traffic system.

  10. 77 FR 23521 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-19

    ... consideration, i.e., cash or stock. See Section II of the Pricing Schedule. \\13\\ A short stock interest strategy... The Exchange proposes to amend its Pricing Schedule to increase a rebate for Qualified Contingent... be executed at a price at or between the National Best Bid and Offer and be rejected if a Customer...

  11. Best Speed Fit EDF Scheduling for Performance Asymmetric Multiprocessors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Wu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the performance of a real-time system, asymmetric multiprocessors have been proposed. The benefits of improved system performance and reduced power consumption from such architectures cannot be fully exploited unless suitable task scheduling and task allocation approaches are implemented at the operating system level. Unfortunately, most of the previous research on scheduling algorithms for performance asymmetric multiprocessors is focused on task priority assignment. They simply assign the highest priority task to the fastest processor. In this paper, we propose BSF-EDF (best speed fit for earliest deadline first for performance asymmetric multiprocessor scheduling. This approach chooses a suitable processor rather than the fastest one, when allocating tasks. With this proposed BSF-EDF scheduling, we also derive an effective schedulability test.

  12. 5 CFR 630.1204 - Intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... insurance, health benefits, retirement coverage, and leave accrual). (e) The agency shall determine the... REGULATIONS ABSENCE AND LEAVE Family and Medical Leave § 630.1204 Intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule... reduced leave schedule unless the employee and the agency agree to do so. (b) Leave under § 630.1203(a) (3...

  13. Scheduling the scheduling task : a time management perspective on scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Larco Martinelli, J.A.; Wiers, V.C.S.; Fransoo, J.C.

    2013-01-01

    Time is the most critical resource at the disposal of schedulers. Hence, an adequate management of time from the schedulers may impact positively on the scheduler’s productivity and responsiveness to uncertain scheduling environments. This paper presents a field study of how schedulers make use of

  14. Does self-scheduling increase nurses' job satisfaction? An integrative literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koning, Clare

    2014-09-25

    Flexible work schedules give nurses the freedom and control to manage the demands of work and home, allow organisations to meet their staffing needs and can improve job satisfaction. This article reports the results of an integrative review of published peer-reviewed research and personal narratives that examined nurses' perceptions of the relationship between job satisfaction and a self-scheduling system. Results suggest that self-scheduling is one of a number of factors that influence job satisfaction, but that implementing and sustaining such a system can be challenging. The review also found that self-scheduling programmes underpin more flexible work schedules and can benefit nurses and their organisations.

  15. Welfare and Taxes: Extending Benefits and Taxes to Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-09-01

    corporate income tax revenue and decrease personal income tax revenue and thus redistribute tax burdens. Our estimates would be affected accordingly...estimated $524 million in corporate income tax revenue for tax year 1983. However, the areas exempted or rebated another $2.35 billion of area income...Views Such exemptions and rebates, which the U .S. Code does not allow, account for much of the difference between estimated area corporate income tax collections

  16. Your Medicare Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... schedule a lung cancer screening counseling and shared decision making visit with your doctor to discuss the benefits ... when they’re available in your MyMedicare.gov account. 58 Section 3: For more information Visit Medicare. gov for general information about Medicare ...

  17. Cost and schedule reduction for next-generation Candu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopwood, J.M.; Yu, S.; Pakan, M.; Soulard, M.

    2002-01-01

    AECL has developed a suite of technologies for Candu R reactors that enable the next step in the evolution of the Candu family of heavy-water-moderated fuel-channel reactors. These technologies have been combined in the design for the Advanced Candu Reactor TM1 (ACRTM), AECL's next generation Candu power plant. The ACR design builds extensively on the existing Candu experience base, but includes innovations, in design and in delivery technology, that provide very substantial reductions in capital cost and in project schedules. In this paper, main features of next generation design and delivery are summarized, to provide the background basis for the cost and schedule reductions that have been achieved. In particular the paper outlines the impact of the innovative design steps for ACR: - Selection of slightly enriched fuel bundle design; - Use of light water coolant in place of traditional Candu heavy water coolant; - Compact core design with unique reactor physics benefits; - Optimized coolant and turbine system conditions. In addition to the direct cost benefits arising from efficiency improvement, and from the reduction in heavy water, the next generation Candu configuration results in numerous additional indirect cost benefits, including: - Reduction in number and complexity of reactivity mechanisms; - Reduction in number of heavy water auxiliary systems; - Simplification in heat transport and its support systems; - Simplified human-machine interface. The paper also describes the ACR approach to design for constructability. The application of module assembly and open-top construction techniques, based on Candu and other worldwide experience, has been proven to generate savings in both schedule durations and overall project cost, by reducing premium on-site activities, and by improving efficiency of system and subsystem assembly. AECL's up-to-date experience in the use of 3-D CADDS and related engineering tools has also been proven to reduce both engineering and

  18. Departure Queue Prediction for Strategic and Tactical Surface Scheduler Integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelinski, Shannon; Windhorst, Robert

    2016-01-01

    A departure metering concept to be demonstrated at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) will integrate strategic and tactical surface scheduling components to enable the respective collaborative decision making and improved efficiency benefits these two methods of scheduling provide. This study analyzes the effect of tactical scheduling on strategic scheduler predictability. Strategic queue predictions and target gate pushback times to achieve a desired queue length are compared between fast time simulations of CLT surface operations with and without tactical scheduling. The use of variable departure rates as a strategic scheduler input was shown to substantially improve queue predictions over static departure rates. With target queue length calibration, the strategic scheduler can be tuned to produce average delays within one minute of the tactical scheduler. However, root mean square differences between strategic and tactical delays were between 12 and 15 minutes due to the different methods the strategic and tactical schedulers use to predict takeoff times and generate gate pushback clearances. This demonstrates how difficult it is for the strategic scheduler to predict tactical scheduler assigned gate delays on an individual flight basis as the tactical scheduler adjusts departure sequence to accommodate arrival interactions. Strategic/tactical scheduler compatibility may be improved by providing more arrival information to the strategic scheduler and stabilizing tactical scheduler changes to runway sequence in response to arrivals.

  19. Pharmacy Benefit Management Companies: Do They Create Value in the US Healthcare System?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyles, Alan

    2017-05-01

    Pharmacy benefit management companies (PBMs) perform functions in the US market-based healthcare system that may be performed by public agencies or quasi-public institutions in other nations. By aggregating lives covered under their many individual contracts with payers, PBMs have formidable negotiating power. They influence pharmaceutical insurance coverage, design the terms of coverage in a plan's drug benefit, and create competition among providers for inclusion in a plan's network. PBMs have, through intermediation, the potential to secure lower drug prices and to improve rational prescribing. Whether these potential outcomes are realized within the relevant budget is a function of the healthcare system and the interaction of benefit design and clinical processes-not just individually vetted components. Efficiencies and values achieved in price discounts and cost sharing can be nullified if there is irrational prescribing (over-utilization, under-utilization and mis-utilization), variable patient adherence to medication regimens, ineffective formulary processes, or fraud, waste and abuse. Rising prescription drug costs and the increasing prevalence of 'high deductible health plans', which require much greater patient out-of-pocket costs, is creating a crisis for PBM efforts towards an affordable pharmacy benefit. Since PBM rebate and incentive contracts are opaque to the public, whether they add value by restraining higher drug prices or benefit from them is debatable.

  20. 29 CFR 70.54 - Employee Benefits Security Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Employee Benefits Security Administration. 70.54 Section 70... Records and Filings § 70.54 Employee Benefits Security Administration. (a) The annual financial reports (Form 5500) and attachments/schedules as filed by employee benefit plans under the Employee Retirement...

  1. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of educating parents on the benefits and schedules of childhood vaccinations in low and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukusa, Lungeni Auguy; Ndze, Valantine Ngum; Mbeye, Nyanyiwe Masingi; Wiysonge, Charles Shey

    2018-03-26

    Public health benefits of childhood vaccinations risk being derailed by low vaccination coverage in low and middle-income countries. One reason for the low coverage is poor parental knowledge of the importance of completing vaccination schedules. We therefore assessed the effects on childhood vaccination coverage, of educating parents and other persons assuming the parental role. We prospectively registered the systematic review, published the protocol, and used standard Cochrane methods to collect and synthesise the evidence. We found six eligible randomised trials with 4248 participants. Three trials assessed health-facility based education of mothers on the importance of completing vaccination schedules; immediately after birth and three months later (one study) or during the first vaccination visit (two studies). The other trials assessed community-based education, including information campaigns on the importance of vaccines using audiotaped presentations and leaflet distributions (one study); structured group discussions on benefits and costs of childhood vaccination and local action plans for improving vaccine uptake (one study); and home-based information sessions using graphic cards showing benefits and costs of childhood vaccinations and location of vaccination centres (one study). Combining the data shows that these interventions lead to substantial improvements in childhood vaccination coverage (relative increase 36%, 95% confidence interval 14% to 62%). There was no difference between the effects of community-based and facility-based education. Therefore, education in communities and health facilities on the importance of childhood vaccinations should be integrated into all vaccination programmes in low and middle-income countries; accompanied by robust monitoring of impacts and use of data for action.

  2. A Market-Based Approach to Multi-factory Scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vytelingum, Perukrishnen; Rogers, Alex; MacBeth, Douglas K.; Dutta, Partha; Stranjak, Armin; Jennings, Nicholas R.

    In this paper, we report on the design of a novel market-based approach for decentralised scheduling across multiple factories. Specifically, because of the limitations of scheduling in a centralised manner - which requires a center to have complete and perfect information for optimality and the truthful revelation of potentially commercially private preferences to that center - we advocate an informationally decentralised approach that is both agile and dynamic. In particular, this work adopts a market-based approach for decentralised scheduling by considering the different stakeholders representing different factories as self-interested, profit-motivated economic agents that trade resources for the scheduling of jobs. The overall schedule of these jobs is then an emergent behaviour of the strategic interaction of these trading agents bidding for resources in a market based on limited information and their own preferences. Using a simple (zero-intelligence) bidding strategy, we empirically demonstrate that our market-based approach achieves a lower bound efficiency of 84%. This represents a trade-off between a reasonable level of efficiency (compared to a centralised approach) and the desirable benefits of a decentralised solution.

  3. Scheduling in Heterogeneous Grid Environments: The Effects of DataMigration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliker, Leonid; Biswas, Rupak; Shan, Hongzhang; Smith, Warren

    2004-01-01

    Computational grids have the potential for solving large-scale scientific problems using heterogeneous and geographically distributed resources. However, a number of major technical hurdles must be overcome before this goal can be fully realized. One problem critical to the effective utilization of computational grids is efficient job scheduling. Our prior work addressed this challenge by defining a grid scheduling architecture and several job migration strategies. The focus of this study is to explore the impact of data migration under a variety of demanding grid conditions. We evaluate our grid scheduling algorithms by simulating compute servers, various groupings of servers into sites, and inter-server networks, using real workloads obtained from leading supercomputing centers. Several key performance metrics are used to compare the behavior of our algorithms against reference local and centralized scheduling schemes. Results show the tremendous benefits of grid scheduling, even in the presence of input/output data migration - while highlighting the importance of utilizing communication-aware scheduling schemes.

  4. 20 CFR 25.202 - How is the Special Schedule applied for Japanese seamen?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Japanese seamen? 25.202 Section 25.202 Employees' Benefits OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROGRAMS... How is the Special Schedule applied for Japanese seamen? (a) The special schedule of compensation... United States or Canada by direct-hire Japanese seamen who are neither citizens nor residents of the...

  5. Preemptive scheduling in overloaded systems

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chrobak, M.; Epstein, L.; Noga, J.; Sgall, Jiří; van Stee, R.; Tichý, Tomáš; Vakhania, N.

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 67, č. 1 (2003), s. 183-197 ISSN 0022-0000 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA201/01/1195; GA MŠk ME 476; GA AV ČR IAA1019901; GA MŠk LN00A056 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1019905; CEZ:AV0Z1019905 Keywords : scheduling * online algorithms * benefit Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.795, year: 2003

  6. Efficient operation scheduling for adsorption chillers using predictive optimization-based control methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bürger, Adrian; Sawant, Parantapa; Bohlayer, Markus; Altmann-Dieses, Angelika; Braun, Marco; Diehl, Moritz

    2017-10-01

    Within this work, the benefits of using predictive control methods for the operation of Adsorption Cooling Machines (ACMs) are shown on a simulation study. Since the internal control decisions of series-manufactured ACMs often cannot be influenced, the work focuses on optimized scheduling of an ACM considering its internal functioning as well as forecasts for load and driving energy occurrence. For illustration, an assumed solar thermal climate system is introduced and a system model suitable for use within gradient-based optimization methods is developed. The results of a system simulation using a conventional scheme for ACM scheduling are compared to the results of a predictive, optimization-based scheduling approach for the same exemplary scenario of load and driving energy occurrence. The benefits of the latter approach are shown and future actions for application of these methods for system control are addressed.

  7. Mandates, buyouts and fuel-tax rebates: Some economic aspects of biofuel policies using the UK as an example

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swinbank, Alan; Tranter, Richard; Jones, Philip

    2011-01-01

    Many governments mandate the blending of biofuels with fossil fuel supplies. The paper raises the possibility that some firms might choose not to respect such mandates, and cites the UK's experience, where a buyout of the obligation is possible. A simple economic framework is then used to explore some implications of mandate buyouts, including situations when buyouts and road-fuel-tax rebates are applied together. Finally, it discusses the design of buyout-mandate schemes that could release raw materials from biofuel production, following a future world food price shock. - Research Highlights: → Many governments mandate the blending of biofuels with fossil fuels. → Some allow firms to buyout the obligation. → Buyouts change the economic incentives firms face. → We use an economic framework to analyse buyouts of biofuel mandates. → Buyouts could alleviate the impact of biofuel mandates on rising food prices.

  8. 18 CFR 701.203 - Schedule of fees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... by the Public Information Officer on the basis of the balance between the benefit to the general public and the cost to the Water Resources Council. (d) Fees shall be limited to recovery of only direct... ORGANIZATION Availability of Information § 701.203 Schedule of fees. (a) The Public Information Officer will to...

  9. Auditory Training for Adults Who Have Hearing Loss: A Comparison of Spaced Versus Massed Practice Schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent; Barcroft, Joe; Sommers, Mitchell

    2017-08-16

    The spacing effect in human memory research refers to situations in which people learn items better when they study items in spaced intervals rather than massed intervals. This investigation was conducted to compare the efficacy of meaning-oriented auditory training when administered with a spaced versus massed practice schedule. Forty-seven adult hearing aid users received 16 hr of auditory training. Participants in a spaced group (mean age = 64.6 years, SD = 14.7) trained twice per week, and participants in a massed group (mean age = 69.6 years, SD = 17.5) trained for 5 consecutive days each week. Participants completed speech perception tests before training, immediately following training, and then 3 months later. In line with transfer appropriate processing theory, tests assessed both trained tasks and an untrained task. Auditory training improved the speech recognition performance of participants in both groups. Benefits were maintained for 3 months. No effect of practice schedule was found on overall benefits achieved, on retention of benefits, nor on generalizability of benefits to nontrained tasks. The lack of spacing effect in otherwise effective auditory training suggests that perceptual learning may be subject to different influences than are other types of learning, such as vocabulary learning. Hence, clinicians might have latitude in recommending training schedules to accommodate patients' schedules.

  10. 20 CFR 25.201 - How is the Special Schedule applied for employees in Australia?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... employees in Australia? 25.201 Section 25.201 Employees' Benefits OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROGRAMS... How is the Special Schedule applied for employees in Australia? (a) The special schedule of compensation established by subpart B of this part shall apply in Australia with the modifications or additions...

  11. SOFIA's Choice: Automating the Scheduling of Airborne Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Jeremy; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

    1999-01-01

    This paper describes the problem of scheduling observations for an airborne telescope. Given a set of prioritized observations to choose from, and a wide range of complex constraints governing legitimate choices and orderings, how can we efficiently and effectively create a valid flight plan which supports high priority observations? This problem is quite different from scheduling problems which are routinely solved automatically in industry. For instance, the problem requires making choices which lead to other choices later, and contains many interacting complex constraints over both discrete and continuous variables. Furthermore, new types of constraints may be added as the fundamental problem changes. As a result of these features, this problem cannot be solved by traditional scheduling techniques. The problem resembles other problems in NASA and industry, from observation scheduling for rovers and other science instruments to vehicle routing. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In 2 we describe the observatory in order to provide some background. In 3 we describe the problem of scheduling a single flight. In 4 we compare flight planning and other scheduling problems and argue that traditional techniques are not sufficient to solve this problem. We also mention similar complex scheduling problems which may benefit from efforts to solve this problem. In 5 we describe an approach for solving this problem based on research into a similar problem, that of scheduling observations for a space-borne probe. In 6 we discuss extensions of the flight planning problem as well as other problems which are similar to flight planning. In 7 we conclude and discuss future work.

  12. An Improved Genetic Algorithm for Single-Machine Inverse Scheduling Problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianhui Mou

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of the scheduling is to arrange operations on suitable machines with optimal sequence for corresponding objectives. In order to meet market requirements, scheduling systems must own enough flexibility against uncertain events. These events can change production status or processing parameters, even causing the original schedule to no longer be optimal or even to be infeasible. Traditional scheduling strategies, however, cannot cope with these cases. Therefore, a new idea of scheduling called inverse scheduling has been proposed. In this paper, the inverse scheduling with weighted completion time (SMISP is considered in a single-machine shop environment. In this paper, an improved genetic algorithm (IGA with a local searching strategy is proposed. To improve the performance of IGA, efficient encoding scheme, fitness evaluation mechanism, feasible initialization methods, and a local search procedure have been employed in the paper. Because of the local improving method, the proposed IGA can balance its exploration ability and exploitation ability. We adopt 27 instances to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results illustrated that the proposed algorithm can generate satisfactory solutions. This approach also has been applied to solve the scheduling problem in the real Chinese shipyard and can bring some benefits.

  13. Tramp Ship Routing and Scheduling - Models, Methods and Opportunities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vilhelmsen, Charlotte; Larsen, Jesper; Lusby, Richard Martin

    of their demand in advance. However, the detailed requirements of these contract cargoes can be subject to ongoing changes, e.g. the destination port can be altered. For tramp operators, a main concern is therefore the efficient and continuous planning of routes and schedules for the individual ships. Due...... and scheduling problem, focus should now be on extending this basic problem to include additional real-world complexities and develop suitable solution methods for those extensions. Such extensions will enable more tramp operators to benefit from the solution methods while simultaneously creating new...

  14. Constraint-based job shop scheduling with ILOG SCHEDULER

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nuijten, W.P.M.; Le Pape, C.

    1998-01-01

    We introduce constraint-based scheduling and discuss its main principles. An approximation algorithm based on tree search is developed for the job shop scheduling problem using ILOG SCHEDULER. A new way of calculating lower bounds on the makespan of the job shop scheduling problem is presented and

  15. Multiprocessor scheduling for real-time systems

    CERN Document Server

    Baruah, Sanjoy; Buttazzo, Giorgio

    2015-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive overview of both theoretical and pragmatic aspects of resource-allocation and scheduling in multiprocessor and multicore hard-real-time systems.  The authors derive new, abstract models of real-time tasks that capture accurately the salient features of real application systems that are to be implemented on multiprocessor platforms, and identify rules for mapping application systems onto the most appropriate models.  New run-time multiprocessor scheduling algorithms are presented, which are demonstrably better than those currently used, both in terms of run-time efficiency and tractability of off-line analysis.  Readers will benefit from a new design and analysis framework for multiprocessor real-time systems, which will translate into a significantly enhanced ability to provide formally verified, safety-critical real-time systems at a significantly lower cost.

  16. An integrated modeling framework for real-time irrigation scheduling: the benefit of spectroscopy and weather forecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brook, Anna; Polinova, Maria; Housh, Mashor

    2016-04-01

    Agriculture and agricultural landscapes are increasingly under pressure to meet the demands of a constantly increasing human population and globally changing food patterns. At the same time, there is rising concern that climate change and food security will harm agriculture in many regions of the world (Nelson et al., 2009). Facing those treats, majority of Mediterranean countries had chosen irrigated agriculture. For crop plants water is one of the most important inputs, as it is responsible for crop growth, production and it ensures the efficiency of other inputs (e.g. seeds, fertilizers and pesticide) but its use is in competition with other local sectors (e.g. industry, urban human use). Thus, well-timed availability of water is vital to agriculture for ensured yields. The increasing demand for irrigation has necessitated the need for optimal irrigation scheduling techniques that coordinate the timing and amount of irrigation to optimally manage the water use in agriculture systems. The irrigation scheduling problem can be challenging as farmers try to deal with different conflicting objectives of maximizing their yield while minimizing irrigation water use. Another challenge in the irrigation scheduling problem is attributed to the uncertain factors involved in the plant growth process during the growing season. Most notable, the climatic factors such as evapotranspiration and rainfall, these uncertain factors add a third objective to the farmer perspective, namely, minimizing the risk associated with these uncertain factors. Nevertheless, advancements in weather forecasting reduced the uncertainty level associated with future climatic data. Thus, climatic forecasts can be reliably employed to guide optimal irrigation schedule scheme when coupled with stochastic optimization models (Housh et al., 2012). Many studies have concluded that optimal irrigation decisions can provide substantial economic value over conventional irrigation decisions (Wang and Cai 2009

  17. Distributed Hybrid Scheduling in Multi-Cloud Networks using Conflict Graphs

    KAUST Repository

    Douik, Ahmed; Dahrouj, Hayssam; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    Recent studies on cloud-radio access networks assume either signal-level or scheduling-level coordination. This paper considers a hybrid coordinated scheme as a means to benefit from both policies. Consider the downlink of a multi-cloud radio access

  18. 78 FR 35654 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-13

    ... rebate will apply throughout that month. \\6\\ Phlx is adding a footnote to the fee schedule defining... not designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. \\9\\ 15 U... tier of $0.0028 per share executed upon the satisfaction of stipulated requirements for volume and...

  19. 78 FR 21666 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-11

    ... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... existing pricing tiers within its fee schedule make rebates available to Members that are also based on the....10% proposed herein.\\8\\ Moreover, like existing pricing on the Exchange that is tied to Member's...

  20. 77 FR 74898 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-18

    ... proposed rule change, the rebate levels payable for Priority Customer complex orders in the Additional..., and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any... Rule Change To Amend the Schedule of Fees December 12, 2012. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the...

  1. Refinery scheduling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Magalhaes, Marcus V.; Fraga, Eder T. [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Shah, Nilay [Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)

    2004-07-01

    This work addresses the refinery scheduling problem using mathematical programming techniques. The solution adopted was to decompose the entire refinery model into a crude oil scheduling and a product scheduling problem. The envelope for the crude oil scheduling problem is composed of a terminal, a pipeline and the crude area of a refinery, including the crude distillation units. The solution method adopted includes a decomposition technique based on the topology of the system. The envelope for the product scheduling comprises all tanks, process units and products found in a refinery. Once crude scheduling decisions are Also available the product scheduling is solved using a rolling horizon algorithm. All models were tested with real data from PETROBRAS' REFAP refinery, located in Canoas, Southern Brazil. (author)

  2. Low-Feedback Opportunistic Scheduling Schemes for Wireless Networks with Heterogenous Users

    KAUST Repository

    Rashid, Faraan

    2012-07-01

    Efficient implementation of resource sharing strategies in a multi-user wireless environment can improve the performance of a network significantly. In this thesis we study various scheduling strategies for wireless networks and handle the problem of opportunistically scheduling transmissions using channel aware schemes. First we propose a scheme that can handle users with asymmetric channel conditions and is opportunistic in the sense that it exploits the multi-user diversity of the network. The scheme requires the users to have a priori knowledge of their channel distributions. The associated overhead is limited meaning it offers reduced feedback load, that does not scale with the increasing number of users. The main technique used to shrink the feedback load is the contention based distributed implementation of a splitting algorithm that does not require explicit feedback to the scheduler from every user. The users find the best among themselves, in a distributed manner, while requiring just a ternary broadcast feedback from the scheduler at the end of each mini-slot. In addition, it can also handle fairness constraints in time and throughput to various degrees. Next we propose another opportunistic scheduler that offers most of the benefits of the previously proposed scheme but is more practical because it can also handle heterogenous users whose channel distributions are unknown. This new scheme actually reduces the complexity and is also more robust for changing traffic patterns. Finally we extend both these schemes to the scenario where there are fixed thresholds, this enables us to handle opportunistic scheduling in practical systems that can only transmit over finite number of discrete rates with the additional benefit that full feedback session, even from the selected user, is never required.

  3. Scheduling Non-Preemptible Jobs to Minimize Peak Demand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean Yaw

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines an important problem in smart grid energy scheduling; peaks in power demand are proportionally more expensive to generate and provision for. The issue is exacerbated in local microgrids that do not benefit from the aggregate smoothing experienced by large grids. Demand-side scheduling can reduce these peaks by taking advantage of the fact that there is often flexibility in job start times. We focus attention on the case where the jobs are non-preemptible, meaning once started, they run to completion. The associated optimization problem is called the peak demand minimization problem, and has been previously shown to be NP-hard. Our results include an optimal fixed-parameter tractable algorithm, a polynomial-time approximation algorithm, as well as an effective heuristic that can also be used in an online setting of the problem. Simulation results show that these methods can reduce peak demand by up to 50% versus on-demand scheduling for household power jobs.

  4. 77 FR 16888 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-22

    ... Liquidity in Section I of the Exchange's Fee Schedule. The text of the proposed rule change is available on...-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Delete Certain Select Symbols From the Rebates and Fees for Adding and Removing Liquidity in...

  5. 75 FR 6767 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-10

    ... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... competitive reasons, the Exchange is now seeking to re-introduce an Ultra Tier rebate of $0.0031 per share. \\4... to the Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2010,\\5\\ DECN adjusted its pricing model to be more...

  6. 75 FR 25898 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-10

    ... Rule Change Relating to Rebates for Adding and Fees for Removing Liquidity April 30, 2010. Pursuant to... adding, and fees for removing, liquidity. While changes to the Fee Schedule pursuant to this proposal are..., the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to increase liquidity and to attract order...

  7. 20 CFR 416.919n - Informing the medical source of examination scheduling, report content, and signature requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... scheduling, report content, and signature requirements. 416.919n Section 416.919n Employees' Benefits SOCIAL... medical source of examination scheduling, report content, and signature requirements. The medical sources... report containing all of the elements in paragraph (c). (e) Signature requirements. All consultative...

  8. 20 CFR 404.1519n - Informing the medical source of examination scheduling, report content, and signature requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... scheduling, report content, and signature requirements. 404.1519n Section 404.1519n Employees' Benefits... medical source of examination scheduling, report content, and signature requirements. The medical sources... report containing all of the elements in paragraph (c). (e) Signature requirements. All consultative...

  9. Fewer intensive care unit refusals and a higher capacity utilization by using a cyclic surgical case schedule

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Houdenhoven, Mark; van Oostrum, Jeroen M.; Wullink, Gerhard; Hans, Elias W.; Hurink, Johann L.; Bakker, Jan; Kazemier, Geert

    Purpose: Mounting health care costs force hospital managers to maximize utilization of scarce resources and simultaneously improve access to hospital services. This article assesses the benefits of a cyclic case scheduling approach that exploits a master surgical schedule (MSS). An MSS maximizes

  10. Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules

    OpenAIRE

    Takahashi Masaya

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Good sleep is advantageous to the quality of life. Sleep-related benefits are particularly helpful for the working class, since poor or inadequate amounts of sleep degrade work productivity and overall health. This review paper explores the essential role of sleep in healthy work schedules and primarily focuses on the timing of sleep in relation to the work period (that is, before, during and after work). Data from laboratory, field and modeling studies indicate that consistent amoun...

  11. Overcoming barriers to scheduling embedded generation to support distribution networks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wright, A.J.; Formby, J.R.

    2000-07-01

    Current scheduling of embedded generation for distribution in the UK is limited and patchy. Some DNOs actively schedule while others do none. The literature on the subject is mainly about accommodating volatile wind output, and optimising island systems, for both cost of supply and network stability. The forthcoming NETA will lower prices, expose unpredictable generation to imbalance markets and could introduce punitive constraint payments on DNOs, but at the same time create a dynamic market for both power and ancillary services from embedded generators. Most renewable generators either run as base load (e.g. waste ) or according to the vagaries of the weather (e.g. wind, hydro), so offer little scope for scheduling other than 'off'. CHP plant is normally heat- led for industrial processes or building needs, but supplementary firing or thermal storage often allow considerable scope for scheduling. Micro-CHP with thermal storage could provide short-term scheduling, but tends to be running anyway during the evening peak. Standby generation appears to be ideal for scheduling, but in practice operators may be unwilling to run parallel with the network, and noise and pollution problems may preclude frequent operation. Statistical analysis can be applied to calculate the reliability of several generators compared to one; with a large number of generators such as micro-CHP reliability of a proportion of load is close to unity. The type of communication for generation used will depend on requirements for bandwidth, cost, reliability and whether it is bundled with other services. With high levels of deeply embedded, small-scale generation using induction machines, voltage control and black start capability will become important concerns on 11 kV and LV networks. This will require increased generation monitoring and remote control of switchgear. Examples of cost benefits from scheduling are given, including deferred reinforcement, increased exports on non

  12. 75 FR 10022 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 990 and Schedules A and B

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-04

    ... Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting... 4947(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (except black lung benefit trust or private foundation...), 501(f), 501(k), 501(n), or Section 4947(a)(1) Nonexempt Charitable Trust, and Schedule B, Schedule of...

  13. 77 FR 56907 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-14

    ... is appended to the rebate for adding liquidity in securities at or above $1.00 on the Exchange's fee... fee schedule based upon the Member's average inbound message-to-trade ratio for that month being equal... their average inbound message-to- trade ratio, measured monthly, was equal to or less than 100:1...

  14. Using a vision cognitive algorithm to schedule virtual machines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao Jiaqi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Scheduling virtual machines is a major research topic for cloud computing, because it directly influences the performance, the operation cost and the quality of services. A large cloud center is normally equipped with several hundred thousand physical machines. The mission of the scheduler is to select the best one to host a virtual machine. This is an NPhard global optimization problem with grand challenges for researchers. This work studies the Virtual Machine (VM scheduling problem on the cloud. Our primary concern with VM scheduling is the energy consumption, because the largest part of a cloud center operation cost goes to the kilowatts used. We designed a scheduling algorithm that allocates an incoming virtual machine instance on the host machine, which results in the lowest energy consumption of the entire system. More specifically, we developed a new algorithm, called vision cognition, to solve the global optimization problem. This algorithm is inspired by the observation of how human eyes see directly the smallest/largest item without comparing them pairwisely. We theoretically proved that the algorithm works correctly and converges fast. Practically, we validated the novel algorithm, together with the scheduling concept, using a simulation approach. The adopted cloud simulator models different cloud infrastructures with various properties and detailed runtime information that can usually not be acquired from real clouds. The experimental results demonstrate the benefit of our approach in terms of reducing the cloud center energy consumption

  15. Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Good sleep is advantageous to the quality of life. Sleep-related benefits are particularly helpful for the working class, since poor or inadequate amounts of sleep degrade work productivity and overall health. This review paper explores the essential role of sleep in healthy work schedules and primarily focuses on the timing of sleep in relation to the work period (that is, before, during and after work). Data from laboratory, field and modeling studies indicate that consistent amounts of sleep prior to work are fundamental to improved performance and alertness in the workplace. In addition, planned naps taken during work maintain appropriate levels of waking function for both daytime and night-time work. Clearly, sufficient sleep after work is vital in promoting recovery from fatigue. Recent data also suggest that the time interval between shifts should be adjusted according to the biological timing of sleep. Although sleep is more likely to be replaced by job and other activities in the real life, research shows that it is worthwhile to revise the work schedules in order to optimize sleep before, sometime during and after the work period. Therefore, we suggest establishing work-sleep balance, similar to work-life balance, as a principle for designing and improving work schedules. PMID:22738292

  16. Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takahashi Masaya

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Good sleep is advantageous to the quality of life. Sleep-related benefits are particularly helpful for the working class, since poor or inadequate amounts of sleep degrade work productivity and overall health. This review paper explores the essential role of sleep in healthy work schedules and primarily focuses on the timing of sleep in relation to the work period (that is, before, during and after work. Data from laboratory, field and modeling studies indicate that consistent amounts of sleep prior to work are fundamental to improved performance and alertness in the workplace. In addition, planned naps taken during work maintain appropriate levels of waking function for both daytime and night-time work. Clearly, sufficient sleep after work is vital in promoting recovery from fatigue. Recent data also suggest that the time interval between shifts should be adjusted according to the biological timing of sleep. Although sleep is more likely to be replaced by job and other activities in the real life, research shows that it is worthwhile to revise the work schedules in order to optimize sleep before, sometime during and after the work period. Therefore, we suggest establishing work-sleep balance, similar to work-life balance, as a principle for designing and improving work schedules.

  17. Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Masaya

    2012-03-13

    Good sleep is advantageous to the quality of life. Sleep-related benefits are particularly helpful for the working class, since poor or inadequate amounts of sleep degrade work productivity and overall health. This review paper explores the essential role of sleep in healthy work schedules and primarily focuses on the timing of sleep in relation to the work period (that is, before, during and after work). Data from laboratory, field and modeling studies indicate that consistent amounts of sleep prior to work are fundamental to improved performance and alertness in the workplace. In addition, planned naps taken during work maintain appropriate levels of waking function for both daytime and night-time work. Clearly, sufficient sleep after work is vital in promoting recovery from fatigue. Recent data also suggest that the time interval between shifts should be adjusted according to the biological timing of sleep. Although sleep is more likely to be replaced by job and other activities in the real life, research shows that it is worthwhile to revise the work schedules in order to optimize sleep before, sometime during and after the work period. Therefore, we suggest establishing work-sleep balance, similar to work-life balance, as a principle for designing and improving work schedules.

  18. Load-shift incentives for household demand response: Evaluation of hourly dynamic pricing and rebate schemes in a wind-based electricity system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Katz, Jonas; Møller Andersen, Frits; Morthorst, Poul Erik

    2016-01-01

    under scenarios with large shares of wind power in a Danish case study. Our results indicate strategies that could be favourable in ensuring high adoption of products and efficient response by households. We find that simple pricing schemes, though economically less efficient, could become important......Applying a partial equilibrium model of the electricity market we analyse effects of exposing household electricity customers to retail products with variable pricing. Both short-term and long-term effects of exposing customers to hourly spot market prices and a simpler rebate scheme are analysed...... in an early phase to initialise the development of household demand response. At a later point, when long-term dynamics take effect, a larger effort should be made to shift consumers onto real-time rates, and an increased focus on overall adoption of variable pricing will be required. Another finding...

  19. BR-SIPP: PETROBRAS Integrated Scheduling System; BR-SIPP: Sistema Integrado de Progamacao de Producao da PETROBRAS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pereira, Cristiane S.; Joly, Marcel; Hassimotto, Marcelo K.; Magalhaes, Marcus Vinicius O. [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    The lack of a computational aided technology to support short-term scheduling activity in the oil and petrochemical sector has been identified as one of the major obstacles to the harmonic integration of production objectives subsequent to the implementation of the advanced control systems and the consolidation of important benefits at the process unit level. Such technology refers to an analytical tool able to capture plant operational information consistent with the scheduling layer demands, modeling the production system economic performance, and providing mechanisms to consider commercial, operation and technological uncertainties. In this context, PETROBRAS has continuously dedicated effort to develop, implement and enhance its own refinery scheduling solution. Nowadays at its second version, the PETROBRAS Integrated Scheduling System (BR-SIPP - INPI grant 00067400) has become the focus of corporate care, given its critical role on the link between planning objectives and plant operations, according to the hierarchical decision strategy currently adopted by PETROBRAS. This paper presents an overview of the tool and illustrates some real-world applications and main realized benefits. (author)

  20. Instructions, multiple schedules, and extinction: Distinguishing rule-governed from schedule-controlled behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, S C; Brownstein, A J; Haas, J R; Greenway, D E

    1986-09-01

    Schedule sensitivity has usually been examined either through a multiple schedule or through changes in schedules after steady-state responding has been established. This study compared the effects of these two procedures when various instructions were given. Fifty-five college students responded in two 32-min sessions under a multiple fixed-ratio 18/differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 6-s schedule, followed by one session of extinction. Some subjects received no instructions regarding the appropriate rates of responding, whereas others received instructions to respond slowly, rapidly, or both. Relative to the schedule in operation, the instructions were minimal, partially inaccurate, or accurate. When there was little schedule sensitivity in the multiple schedule, there was little in extinction. When apparently schedule-sensitive responding occurred in the multiple schedule, however, sensitivity in extinction occurred only if differential responding in the multiple schedule could not be due to rules supplied by the experimenter. This evidence shows that rule-governed behavior that occurs in the form of schedule-sensitive behavior may not in fact become schedule-sensitive even though it makes contact with the scheduled reinforcers.

  1. 76 FR 18274 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-01

    ... Section I, Part B of the Exchange's Fee Schedule, titled ``Complex Order'' to pay a Customer Complex Order...]; and Apple, Inc. (AAPL), in order to attract additional Customer order flow in those symbols. \\4\\ SPY... of the S&P 500 Index. Currently, the Exchange pays a $0.24 per contract Customer Complex Order Rebate...

  2. Flexible work schedules, older workers, and retirement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegenthaler, J K; Brenner, A M

    2000-01-01

    Older workers in the United States indicate that they would prefer flexible work arrangements rather than abrupt retirement, yet management has done very little to make this possible. A review of two bodies of literature from the late 1980s is presented: social science writings including sociological, gerontological, and economic literature, and business and management literature. There is a clash between the way jobs are traditionally scheduled and the needs of growing numbers of older workers. Workers continue to be subject to obstacles to phased retirement due to the structuring of health care and pension benefits, downsizing, organizational inflexibility, and "corporate culture." Thus, general views among social scientists regarding the desirability of flexible schedules toward retirement will not produce real changes unless management becomes committed to such changes and they are securely embedded in company policies.

  3. 26 CFR 1.419A(f)(6)-1 - Exception for 10 or more employer plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... the participating employers, and those differences are not merely reflective of differences in current... current age, gender, geographic locale, number of covered dependents, and benefit terms) for the..., cash, dividends, rebates of contributions, property, promises to pay, or otherwise. (2) Benefits...

  4. Solving Flexible Job-Shop Scheduling Problem Using Gravitational Search Algorithm and Colored Petri Net

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behnam Barzegar

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Scheduled production system leads to avoiding stock accumulations, losses reduction, decreasing or even eliminating idol machines, and effort to better benefitting from machines for on time responding customer orders and supplying requested materials in suitable time. In flexible job-shop scheduling production systems, we could reduce time and costs by transferring and delivering operations on existing machines, that is, among NP-hard problems. The scheduling objective minimizes the maximal completion time of all the operations, which is denoted by Makespan. Different methods and algorithms have been presented for solving this problem. Having a reasonable scheduled production system has significant influence on improving effectiveness and attaining to organization goals. In this paper, new algorithm were proposed for flexible job-shop scheduling problem systems (FJSSP-GSPN that is based on gravitational search algorithm (GSA. In the proposed method, the flexible job-shop scheduling problem systems was modeled by color Petri net and CPN tool and then a scheduled job was programmed by GSA algorithm. The experimental results showed that the proposed method has reasonable performance in comparison with other algorithms.

  5. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of 4-Fluoroisobutyryl Fentanyl into Schedule I. Temporary scheduling order.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-05-03

    The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing this temporary scheduling order to schedule the synthetic opioid, N-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)isobutyramide (4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl or para-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl), and its isomers, esters, ethers, salts and salts of isomers, esters, and ethers, into schedule I pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. This action is based on a finding by the Administrator that the placement of 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. As a result of this order, the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances will be imposed on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess), or propose to handle, 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl.

  6. Deadline-constrained workflow scheduling algorithms for Infrastructure as a Service Clouds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abrishami, S.; Naghibzadeh, M.; Epema, D.H.J.

    2013-01-01

    The advent of Cloud computing as a new model of service provisioning in distributed systems encourages researchers to investigate its benefits and drawbacks on executing scientific applications such as workflows. One of the most challenging problems in Clouds is workflow scheduling, i.e., the

  7. Scheduling techniques in the Request Oriented Scheduling Engine (ROSE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoch, David R.

    1991-01-01

    Scheduling techniques in the ROSE are presented in the form of the viewgraphs. The following subject areas are covered: agenda; ROSE summary and history; NCC-ROSE task goals; accomplishments; ROSE timeline manager; scheduling concerns; current and ROSE approaches; initial scheduling; BFSSE overview and example; and summary.

  8. FMEF Electrical single line diagram and panel schedule verification process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fong, S.K.

    1998-01-01

    Since the FMEF did not have a mission, a formal drawing verification program was not developed, however, a verification process on essential electrical single line drawings and panel schedules was established to benefit the operations lock and tag program and to enhance the electrical safety culture of the facility. The purpose of this document is to provide a basis by which future landlords and cognizant personnel can understand the degree of verification performed on the electrical single lines and panel schedules. It is the intent that this document be revised or replaced by a more formal requirements document if a mission is identified for the FMEF

  9. A hybrid online scheduling mechanism with revision and progressive techniques for autonomous Earth observation satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Guoliang; Xing, Lining; Chen, Yingwu

    2017-11-01

    The autonomicity of self-scheduling on Earth observation satellite and the increasing scale of satellite network attract much attention from researchers in the last decades. In reality, the limited onboard computational resource presents challenge for the online scheduling algorithm. This study considered online scheduling problem for a single autonomous Earth observation satellite within satellite network environment. It especially addressed that the urgent tasks arrive stochastically during the scheduling horizon. We described the problem and proposed a hybrid online scheduling mechanism with revision and progressive techniques to solve this problem. The mechanism includes two decision policies, a when-to-schedule policy combining periodic scheduling and critical cumulative number-based event-driven rescheduling, and a how-to-schedule policy combining progressive and revision approaches to accommodate two categories of task: normal tasks and urgent tasks. Thus, we developed two heuristic (re)scheduling algorithms and compared them with other generally used techniques. Computational experiments indicated that the into-scheduling percentage of urgent tasks in the proposed mechanism is much higher than that in periodic scheduling mechanism, and the specific performance is highly dependent on some mechanism-relevant and task-relevant factors. For the online scheduling, the modified weighted shortest imaging time first and dynamic profit system benefit heuristics outperformed the others on total profit and the percentage of successfully scheduled urgent tasks.

  10. Optimization of workflow scheduling in Utility Management System with hierarchical neural network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Srdjan Vukmirovic

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Grid computing could be the future computing paradigm for enterprise applications, one of its benefits being that it can be used for executing large scale applications. Utility Management Systems execute very large numbers of workflows with very high resource requirements. This paper proposes architecture for a new scheduling mechanism that dynamically executes a scheduling algorithm using feedback about the current status Grid nodes. Two Artificial Neural Networks were created in order to solve the scheduling problem. A case study is created for the Meter Data Management system with measurements from the Smart Metering system for the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. Performance tests show that significant improvement of overall execution time can be achieved by Hierarchical Artificial Neural Networks.

  11. 76 FR 21946 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 990-BL; Schedule A (Form 990-BL), Form 6069

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-19

    ... Initial Excise Tax Return for Black Lung Benefit Trusts and Certain Related Persons, and Form 6069, Return of Excise Tax on Excess Contributions to Black Lung Benefit Trust Under Section 4953 and Computation...: Form 990-BL, Schedule A (Form 990-BL), Information and Initial Excise Tax Return for Black Lung Benefit...

  12. Breeding latitude drives individual schedules in a trans-hemispheric migrant bird

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Conklin, J.R.; Battley, Phil F.; Potter, Murray A.; Fox, James W.

    2010-01-01

    Despite clear benefits of optimal arrival time on breeding grounds, migration schedules may vary with an individual bird’s innate quality, non-breeding habitat or breeding destination. Here, we show that for the bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri), a shorebird that makes the longest known

  13. 77 FR 67743 - Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Coverage for Certain Intermittent Employees

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-14

    ... employees who work on intermittent schedules eligible to be enrolled in a health benefits plan under the... put their health and safety at risk in order to assist those who have been affected by the storm... health insurance coverage based on the potentially diverse work schedules of intermittent employees...

  14. Examining Inequities in Teacher Pension Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuls, James V.

    2017-01-01

    From funding to teacher quality, inequities exist between school districts. This paper adds to the literature on inequities by examining the impact of pension plan formulas on pension benefits. Using data from the salary schedules of 464 Missouri school districts, this paper analyzes how various final average salary calculations would impact the…

  15. How Should School Districts Shape Teacher Salary Schedules? Linking School Performance to Pay Structure in Traditional Compensation Schemes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grissom, Jason A.; Strunk, Katharine O.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines the relative distribution of salary schedule returns to experience for beginning and veteran teachers. We argue that districts are likely to benefit from structuring salary schedules with greater experience returns early in the teaching career. To test this hypothesis, we match salary data to school-level student performance…

  16. 2007 Wholesale Power Rate Schedules : 2007 General Rate Schedule Provisions.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

    2006-11-01

    This schedule is available for the contract purchase of Firm Power to be used within the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Priority Firm (PF) Power may be purchased by public bodies, cooperatives, and Federal agencies for resale to ultimate consumers, for direct consumption, and for Construction, Test and Start-Up, and Station Service. Rates in this schedule are in effect beginning October 1, 2006, and apply to purchases under requirements Firm Power sales contracts for a three-year period. The Slice Product is only available for public bodies and cooperatives who have signed Slice contracts for the FY 2002-2011 period. Utilities participating in the Residential Exchange Program (REP) under Section 5(c) of the Northwest Power Act may purchase Priority Firm Power pursuant to the Residential Exchange Program. Rates under contracts that contain charges that escalate based on BPA's Priority Firm Power rates shall be based on the three-year rates listed in this rate schedule in addition to applicable transmission charges. This rate schedule supersedes the PF-02 rate schedule, which went into effect October 1, 2001. Sales under the PF-07 rate schedule are subject to BPA's 2007 General Rate Schedule Provisions (2007 GRSPs). Products available under this rate schedule are defined in the 2007 GRSPs. For sales under this rate schedule, bills shall be rendered and payments due pursuant to BPA's 2007 GRSPs and billing process.

  17. Project management with dynamic scheduling baseline scheduling, risk analysis and project control

    CERN Document Server

    Vanhoucke, Mario

    2013-01-01

    The topic of this book is known as dynamic scheduling, and is used to refer to three dimensions of project management and scheduling: the construction of a baseline schedule and the analysis of a project schedule's risk as preparation of the project control phase during project progress. This dynamic scheduling point of view implicitly assumes that the usability of a project's baseline schedule is rather limited and only acts as a point of reference in the project life cycle.

  18. NASA scheduling technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adair, Jerry R.

    1994-01-01

    This paper is a consolidated report on ten major planning and scheduling systems that have been developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A description of each system, its components, and how it could be potentially used in private industry is provided in this paper. The planning and scheduling technology represented by the systems ranges from activity based scheduling employing artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to constraint based, iterative repair scheduling. The space related application domains in which the systems have been deployed vary from Space Shuttle monitoring during launch countdown to long term Hubble Space Telescope (HST) scheduling. This paper also describes any correlation that may exist between the work done on different planning and scheduling systems. Finally, this paper documents the lessons learned from the work and research performed in planning and scheduling technology and describes the areas where future work will be conducted.

  19. Scheduling at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallegos, F.R.

    1999-01-01

    The centerpieces of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) are a half-mile long 800-MeV proton linear accelerator and proton storage ring. The accelerator, storage ring, and target stations provide the protons and spallation neutrons that are used in the numerous basic research and applications experimental programs supported by the US Department of Energy. Experimental users, facility maintenance personnel, and operations personnel must work together to achieve the most program benefit within defined budget and resource constraints. In order to satisfy the experimental users programs, operations must provide reliable and high quality beam delivery. Effective and efficient scheduling is a critical component to achieve this goal. This paper will detail how operations scheduling is presently executed at the LANSCE accelerator facility

  20. 75 FR 42831 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 1065, Schedule C, Schedule D, Schedule K-1...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-22

    .../or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law... Income, Credits, Deductions and Other Items), Schedule L (Balance Sheets per Books), Schedule M-1 (Reconciliation of Income (Loss) per Books With Income (Loss) per Return)), Schedule M-2 (Analysis of Partners...

  1. Optimal Day-ahead Charging Scheduling of Electric Vehicles through an Aggregative Game Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Zhaoxi; Wu, Qiuwei; Huang, Shaojun

    2017-01-01

    The electric vehicle (EV) market has been growing rapidly around the world. With large scale deployment of EVs in power systems, both the grid and EV owners will benefit if the flexible demand of EV charging is properly managed through the electricity market. When EV charging demand is considerable...... in a grid, it will impact spot prices in the electricity market and consequently influence the charging scheduling itself. The interaction between the spot prices and the EV demand needs to be considered in the EV charging scheduling, otherwise it will lead to a higher charging cost. A day-ahead EV charging...... scheduling based on an aggregative game model is proposed in this paper. The impacts of the EV demand on the electricity prices are formulated with the game model in the scheduling considering possible actions of other EVs. The existence and uniqueness of the pure strategy Nash equilibrium are proved...

  2. Sandia National Laboratories: Careers: Benefits and Perks

    Science.gov (United States)

    ; Culture Work-Life Balance Special Programs Students and Postdocs Benefits and Perks Hiring Process Life at in maintaining a work-life balance. We also make everyday life convenient by offering on-site your personal life. We fully support our staff with flexible work schedules. Working from home and

  3. Accelerating exact schedulability analysis for fixed-priority pre-emptive scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hang, Y.; Jiale, Z.; Keskin, U.; Bril, R.J.

    2010-01-01

    The schedulability analysis for fixed-priority preemptive scheduling (FPPS) plays a significant role in the real-time systems domain. The so-called Hyperplanes Exact Test (HET) [1] is an example of an exact schedulability test for FPPS. In this paper, we aim at improving the efficiency of HET by

  4. Assessment of Farmers' Benefits Derived from Olam Organisation's ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study assessed farmers' benefits derived from Olam organization's sustainable cocoa production extension activities in Ondo state. Structured and validated interview schedule was used to collect relevant information from thirty cocoa farmers, using multistage random sampling technique from cocoa producing towns ...

  5. Tri-generation based hybrid power plant scheduling for renewable resources rich area with energy storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pazheri, F.R.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Involves scheduling of the tri-generation based hybrid power plant. • Utilization of renewable energy through energy storage is discussed. • Benefits of the proposed model are illustrated. • Energy efficient and environmental friendly dispatch is analyzed. • Modeled scheduling problem is applicable to any fuel enriched area. - Abstract: Solving power system scheduling is crucial to ensure smooth operations of the electric power industry. Effective utilization of available conventional and renewable energy sources (RES) by tri-generation and with the aid of energy storage facilities (ESF) can ensure clean and energy efficient power generation. Such power generation can play an important role in countries, like Saudi Arabia, where abundant fossil fuels (FF) and renewable energy sources (RES) are available. Hence, effective modeling of such hybrid power systems scheduling is essential in such countries based on the available fuel resources. The intent of this paper is to present a simple model for tri-generation based hybrid power system scheduling for energy resources rich area in presence of ESF, to ensure optimum fuel utilization and minimum pollutant emissions while meeting the power demand. This research points an effective operation strategy which ensure a clean and energy efficient power scheduling by exploiting available energy resources effectively. Hence, it has an important role in current and future power generation. In order to illustrate the benefits of the presented approach a clean and energy efficient hybrid power supply scheme for King Saud University (KSU), Saudi Arabia, is proposed and analyzed here. Results show that the proposed approach is very suitable for KSU since adequate solar power is available during its peak demand periods

  6. Planning and Scheduling for Environmental Sensor Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, J. D.

    2005-12-01

    Environmental Sensor Networks are a new way of monitoring the environment. They comprise autonomous sensor nodes in the environment that record real-time data, which is retrieved, analyzed, integrated with other data sets (e.g. satellite images, GIS, process models) and ultimately lead to scientific discoveries. Sensor networks must operate within time and resource constraints. Sensors have limited onboard memory, energy, computational power, communications windows and communications bandwidth. The value of data will depend on when, where and how it was collected, how detailed the data is, how long it takes to integrate the data, and how important the data was to the original scientific question. Planning and scheduling of sensor networks is necessary for effective, safe operations in the face of these constraints. For example, power bus limitations may preclude sensors from simultaneously collecting data and communicating without damaging the sensor; planners and schedulers can ensure these operations are ordered so that they do not happen simultaneously. Planning and scheduling can also ensure best use of the sensor network to maximize the value of collected science data. For example, if data is best recorded using a particular camera angle but it is costly in time and energy to achieve this, planners and schedulers can search for times when time and energy are available to achieve the optimal camera angle. Planning and scheduling can handle uncertainty in the problem specification; planners can be re-run when new information is made available, or can generate plans that include contingencies. For example, if bad weather may prevent the collection of data, a contingent plan can check lighting conditions and turn off data collection to save resources if lighting is not ideal. Both mobile and immobile sensors can benefit from planning and scheduling. For example, data collection on otherwise passive sensors can be halted to preserve limited power and memory

  7. Web Publishing Schedule

    Science.gov (United States)

    Section 207(f)(2) of the E-Gov Act requires federal agencies to develop an inventory and establish a schedule of information to be published on their Web sites, make those schedules available for public comment. To post the schedules on the web site.

  8. Evaluation of the Terminal Precision Scheduling and Spacing System for Near-Term NAS Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thipphavong, Jane; Martin, Lynne Hazel; Swenson, Harry N.; Lin, Paul; Nguyen, Jimmy

    2012-01-01

    NASA has developed a capability for terminal area precision scheduling and spacing (TAPSS) to provide higher capacity and more efficiently manage arrivals during peak demand periods. This advanced technology is NASA's vision for the NextGen terminal metering capability. A set of human-in-the-loop experiments was conducted to evaluate the performance of the TAPSS system for near-term implementation. The experiments evaluated the TAPSS system under the current terminal routing infrastructure to validate operational feasibility. A second goal of the study was to measure the benefit of the Center and TRACON advisory tools to help prioritize the requirements for controller radar display enhancements. Simulation results indicate that using the TAPSS system provides benefits under current operations, supporting a 10% increase in airport throughput. Enhancements to Center decision support tools had limited impact on improving the efficiency of terminal operations, but did provide more fuel-efficient advisories to achieve scheduling conformance within 20 seconds. The TRACON controller decision support tools were found to provide the most benefit, by improving the precision in schedule conformance to within 20 seconds, reducing the number of arrivals having lateral path deviations by 50% and lowering subjective controller workload. Overall, the TAPSS system was found to successfully develop an achievable terminal arrival metering plan that was sustainable under heavy traffic demand levels and reduce the complexity of terminal operations when coupled with the use of the terminal controller advisory tools.

  9. Distributed Hybrid Scheduling in Multi-Cloud Networks using Conflict Graphs

    KAUST Repository

    Douik, Ahmed

    2017-09-07

    Recent studies on cloud-radio access networks assume either signal-level or scheduling-level coordination. This paper considers a hybrid coordinated scheme as a means to benefit from both policies. Consider the downlink of a multi-cloud radio access network, where each cloud is connected to several base-stations (BSs) via high capacity links, and, therefore, allows for joint signal processing within the cloud transmission. Across the multiple clouds, however, only scheduling-level coordination is permitted, as low levels of backhaul communication are feasible. The frame structure of every BS is composed of various time/frequency blocks, called power-zones (PZs), which are maintained at a fixed power level. The paper addresses the problem of maximizing a network-wide utility by associating users to clouds and scheduling them to the PZs, under the practical constraints that each user is scheduled to a single cloud at most, but possibly to many BSs within the cloud, and can be served by one or more distinct PZs within the BSs’ frame. The paper solves the problem using graph theory techniques by constructing the conflict graph. The considered scheduling problem is, then, shown to be equivalent to a maximum-weight independent set problem in the constructed graph, which can be solved using efficient techniques. The paper then proposes solving the problem using both optimal and heuristic algorithms that can be implemented in a distributed fashion across the network. The proposed distributed algorithms rely on the well-chosen structure of the constructed conflict graph utilized to solve the maximum-weight independent set problem. Simulation results suggest that the proposed optimal and heuristic hybrid scheduling strategies provide appreciable gain as compared to the scheduling-level coordinated networks, with a negligible degradation to signal-level coordination.

  10. A review of metaheuristic scheduling techniques in cloud computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mala Kalra

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Cloud computing has become a buzzword in the area of high performance distributed computing as it provides on-demand access to shared pool of resources over Internet in a self-service, dynamically scalable and metered manner. Cloud computing is still in its infancy, so to reap its full benefits, much research is required across a broad array of topics. One of the important research issues which need to be focused for its efficient performance is scheduling. The goal of scheduling is to map tasks to appropriate resources that optimize one or more objectives. Scheduling in cloud computing belongs to a category of problems known as NP-hard problem due to large solution space and thus it takes a long time to find an optimal solution. There are no algorithms which may produce optimal solution within polynomial time to solve these problems. In cloud environment, it is preferable to find suboptimal solution, but in short period of time. Metaheuristic based techniques have been proved to achieve near optimal solutions within reasonable time for such problems. In this paper, we provide an extensive survey and comparative analysis of various scheduling algorithms for cloud and grid environments based on three popular metaheuristic techniques: Ant Colony Optimization (ACO, Genetic Algorithm (GA and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO, and two novel techniques: League Championship Algorithm (LCA and BAT algorithm.

  11. Schedule Matters: Understanding the Relationship between Schedule Delays and Costs on Overruns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majerowicz, Walt; Shinn, Stephen A.

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines the relationship between schedule delays and cost overruns on complex projects. It is generally accepted by many project practitioners that cost overruns are directly related to schedule delays. But what does "directly related to" actually mean? Some reasons or root causes for schedule delays and associated cost overruns are obvious, if only in hindsight. For example, unrealistic estimates, supply chain difficulties, insufficient schedule margin, technical problems, scope changes, or the occurrence of risk events can negatively impact schedule performance. Other factors driving schedule delays and cost overruns may be less obvious and more difficult to quantify. Examples of these less obvious factors include project complexity, flawed estimating assumptions, over-optimism, political factors, "black swan" events, or even poor leadership and communication. Indeed, is it even possible the schedule itself could be a source of delay and subsequent cost overrun? Through literature review, surveys of project practitioners, and the authors' own experience on NASA programs and projects, the authors will categorize and examine the various factors affecting the relationship between project schedule delays and cost growth. The authors will also propose some ideas for organizations to consider to help create an awareness of the factors which could cause or influence schedule delays and associated cost growth on complex projects.

  12. Metaheuristic Based Scheduling Meta-Tasks in Distributed Heterogeneous Computing Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hesam Izakian

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Scheduling is a key problem in distributed heterogeneous computing systems in order to benefit from the large computing capacity of such systems and is an NP-complete problem. In this paper, we present a metaheuristic technique, namely the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO algorithm, for this problem. PSO is a population-based search algorithm based on the simulation of the social behavior of bird flocking and fish schooling. Particles fly in problem search space to find optimal or near-optimal solutions. The scheduler aims at minimizing makespan, which is the time when finishes the latest task. Experimental studies show that the proposed method is more efficient and surpasses those of reported PSO and GA approaches for this problem.

  13. Reality Investing | Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skip to main content State of Alaska myAlaska My Government Resident Business in Alaska Visiting Comp All Other Programs Features Empower Retirement Account Info Online myRnB Member Services Seminars Benefits > Reality Investing Online Counselor Scheduler Empower Retirement Account Info Online myRnB

  14. Coordinated Scheduling and Power Control in Cloud-Radio Access Networks

    KAUST Repository

    Douik, Ahmed

    2015-12-01

    This paper addresses the joint coordinated scheduling and power control problem in cloud-enabled networks. Consider the downlink of a cloud-radio access network (CRAN), where the cloud is only responsible for the scheduling policy, power control, and synchronization of the transmit frames across the single-antenna base-stations (BS). The transmit frame consists of several time/frequency blocks, called power-zones (PZ). The paper considers the problem of scheduling users to PZs and determining their power levels (PL), by maximizing the weighted sum-rate under the practical constraints that each user cannot be served by more than one base-station, but can be served by one or more power-zones within each base-station frame. The paper solves the problem using a graph theoretical approach by introducing the joint scheduling and power control graph formed by several clusters, where each is formed by a set of vertices, representing the possible association of users, BSs, and PLs for one specific PZ. The problem is, then, formulated as a maximumweight clique problem, in which the weight of each vertex is the sum of the benefits of the individual associations belonging to that vertex. Simulation results suggest that the proposed crosslayer scheme provides appreciable performance improvement as compared to schemes from recent literature.

  15. Coordinated Scheduling and Power Control in Cloud-Radio Access Networks

    KAUST Repository

    Douik, Ahmed; Dahrouj, Hayssam; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2015-01-01

    This paper addresses the joint coordinated scheduling and power control problem in cloud-enabled networks. Consider the downlink of a cloud-radio access network (CRAN), where the cloud is only responsible for the scheduling policy, power control, and synchronization of the transmit frames across the single-antenna base-stations (BS). The transmit frame consists of several time/frequency blocks, called power-zones (PZ). The paper considers the problem of scheduling users to PZs and determining their power levels (PL), by maximizing the weighted sum-rate under the practical constraints that each user cannot be served by more than one base-station, but can be served by one or more power-zones within each base-station frame. The paper solves the problem using a graph theoretical approach by introducing the joint scheduling and power control graph formed by several clusters, where each is formed by a set of vertices, representing the possible association of users, BSs, and PLs for one specific PZ. The problem is, then, formulated as a maximumweight clique problem, in which the weight of each vertex is the sum of the benefits of the individual associations belonging to that vertex. Simulation results suggest that the proposed crosslayer scheme provides appreciable performance improvement as compared to schemes from recent literature.

  16. Coordinated scheduling for the downlink of cloud radio-access networks

    KAUST Repository

    Douik, Ahmed S.

    2015-09-11

    This paper addresses the coordinated scheduling problem in cloud-enabled networks. Consider the downlink of a cloud-radio access network (CRAN), where the cloud is only responsible for the scheduling policy and the synchronization of the transmit frames across the connected base-stations (BS). The transmitted frame of every BS consists of several time/frequency blocks, called power-zones (PZ), maintained at fixed transmit power. The paper considers the problem of scheduling users to PZs and BSs in a coordinated fashion across the network, by maximizing a network-wide utility under the practical constraint that each user cannot be served by more than one base-station, but can be served by one or more power-zones within each base-station frame. The paper solves the problem using a graph theoretical approach by introducing the scheduling graph in which each vertex represents an association of users, PZs and BSs. The problem is formulated as a maximum weight clique, in which the weight of each vertex is the benefit of the association represented by that vertex. The paper further presents heuristic algorithms with low computational complexity. Simulation results show the performance of the proposed algorithms and suggest that the heuristics perform near optimal in low shadowing environments. © 2015 IEEE.

  17. Pediatric resident perceptions of family-friendly benefits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berkowitz, Carol D; Frintner, Mary Pat; Cull, William L

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the importance of family-friendly features in residency program selection, benefits offered to and used by residents, and importance of benefits in future job selection. A survey of a random, national sample of 1000 graduating pediatric residents in 2008 was mailed and e-mailed. Survey response rate for graduating resident respondents was 59%. Among the respondents, 76% were women. Thirty-seven percent of men and 32% of women were parents. Residents with children were more likely than residents without children to rate family-friendly characteristics as very important in their residency selection (P maternity leave (88%), paternity leave (59%), individual flexibility with schedule (63%), and lactation rooms (55%), but fewer reported on-site child care (24%), care for ill children (19%), and part-time residency positions (12%). Among residents reporting availability, 77% of women with children used maternity leave and lactation rooms. Few held part-time residency positions (2%), but many expressed interest (23% of women with children). The majority of residents with and without children reported that flexibility with schedule was important in their future job selection. Most women with children (71%) and many women without children (52%) considered part-time work to be very important in their job selection. Family-friendly benefits are important to residents, particularly those with children. The data provides a benchmark for the availability and use of family-friendly features at pediatric training programs. The data also shows that many residents are unaware if benefits are offered, which suggests a need to make available benefits more transparent to residents. Copyright 2010 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 29 CFR 825.203 - Scheduling of intermittent or reduced schedule leave.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for planned medical treatment, then the employee... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Scheduling of intermittent or reduced schedule leave. 825... OF LABOR OTHER LAWS THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993 Employee Leave Entitlements Under the...

  19. ATLAS construction schedule

    CERN Multimedia

    Kotamaki, M

    The goal during the last few months has been to freeze and baseline as much as possible the schedules of various ATLAS systems and activities. The main motivations for the re-baselining of the schedules have been the new LHC schedule aiming at first collisions in early 2006 and the encountered delays in civil engineering as well as in the production of some of the detectors. The process was started by first preparing a new installation schedule that takes into account all the new external constraints and the new ATLAS staging scenario. The installation schedule version 3 was approved in the March EB and it provides the Ready For Installation (RFI) milestones for each system, i.e. the date when the system should be available for the start of the installation. TCn is now interacting with the systems aiming at a more realistic and resource loaded version 4 before the end of the year. Using the new RFI milestones as driving dates a new summary schedule has been prepared, or is under preparation, for each system....

  20. JIST: Just-In-Time Scheduling Translation for Parallel Processors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Agosta

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The application fields of bytecode virtual machines and VLIW processors overlap in the area of embedded and mobile systems, where the two technologies offer different benefits, namely high code portability, low power consumption and reduced hardware cost. Dynamic compilation makes it possible to bridge the gap between the two technologies, but special attention must be paid to software instruction scheduling, a must for the VLIW architectures. We have implemented JIST, a Virtual Machine and JIT compiler for Java Bytecode targeted to a VLIW processor. We show the impact of various optimizations on the performance of code compiled with JIST through the experimental study on a set of benchmark programs. We report significant speedups, and increments in the number of instructions issued per cycle up to 50% with respect to the non-scheduling version of the JITcompiler. Further optimizations are discussed.

  1. Runway Scheduling Using Generalized Dynamic Programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montoya, Justin; Wood, Zachary; Rathinam, Sivakumar

    2011-01-01

    A generalized dynamic programming method for finding a set of pareto optimal solutions for a runway scheduling problem is introduced. The algorithm generates a set of runway fight sequences that are optimal for both runway throughput and delay. Realistic time-based operational constraints are considered, including miles-in-trail separation, runway crossings, and wake vortex separation. The authors also model divergent runway takeoff operations to allow for reduced wake vortex separation. A modeled Dallas/Fort Worth International airport and three baseline heuristics are used to illustrate preliminary benefits of using the generalized dynamic programming method. Simulated traffic levels ranged from 10 aircraft to 30 aircraft with each test case spanning 15 minutes. The optimal solution shows a 40-70 percent decrease in the expected delay per aircraft over the baseline schedulers. Computational results suggest that the algorithm is promising for real-time application with an average computation time of 4.5 seconds. For even faster computation times, two heuristics are developed. As compared to the optimal, the heuristics are within 5% of the expected delay per aircraft and 1% of the expected number of runway operations per hour ad can be 100x faster.

  2. Was it worthwhile? Where have the benefits of rooftop solar photovoltaic generation exceeded the cost?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaishnav, Parth; Horner, Nathaniel; Azevedo, Inês L.

    2017-09-01

    We estimate the lifetime magnitude and distribution of the private and public benefits and costs of currently installed distributed solar PV systems in the United States. Using data for recently-installed systems, we estimate the balance of benefits and costs associated with installing a non-utility solar PV system today. We also study the geographical distribution of the various subsidies that are made available to owners of rooftop solar PV systems, and compare it to distributions of population and income. We find that, after accounting for federal subsidies and local rebates and assuming a discount rate of 7%, the private benefits of new installations will exceed private costs only in seven of the 19 states for which we have data and only if customers can sell excess power to the electric grid at the retail price. These states are characterized by abundant sunshine (California, Texas and Nevada) or by high electricity prices (New York). Public benefits from reduced air pollution and climate change impact exceed the costs of the various subsidies offered system owners for less than 10% of the systems installed, even assuming a 2% discount rate. Subsidies flowed disproportionately to counties with higher median incomes in 2006. In 2014, the distribution of subsidies was closer to that of population income, but subsidies still flowed disproportionately to the better-off. The total, upfront, subsidy per kilowatt of installed capacity has fallen from 5200 in 2006 to 1400 in 2014, but the absolute magnitude of subsidy has soared as installed capacity has grown explosively. We see considerable differences in the balance of costs and benefits even within states, indicating that local factors such as system price and solar resource are important, and that policies (e.g. net metering) could be made more efficient by taking local conditions into account.

  3. Position Paper: OpenMP scheduling on ARM big.LITTLE architecture

    OpenAIRE

    Butko , Anastasiia; Bessad , Louisa; Novo , David; Bruguier , Florent; Gamatié , Abdoulaye; Sassatelli , Gilles; Torres , Lionel; Robert , Michel

    2016-01-01

    International audience; Single-ISA heterogeneous multicore systems are emerging as a promising direction to achieve a more suitable balance between performance and energy consumption. However, a proper utilization of these architectures is essential to reach the energy benefits. In this paper, we demonstrate the ineffectiveness of popular OpenMP scheduling policies executing Rodinia benchmark on the Exynos 5 Octa (5422) SoC, which integrates the ARM big.LITTLE architecture.

  4. Constraint-based scheduling applying constraint programming to scheduling problems

    CERN Document Server

    Baptiste, Philippe; Nuijten, Wim

    2001-01-01

    Constraint Programming is a problem-solving paradigm that establishes a clear distinction between two pivotal aspects of a problem: (1) a precise definition of the constraints that define the problem to be solved and (2) the algorithms and heuristics enabling the selection of decisions to solve the problem. It is because of these capabilities that Constraint Programming is increasingly being employed as a problem-solving tool to solve scheduling problems. Hence the development of Constraint-Based Scheduling as a field of study. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the most widely used Constraint-Based Scheduling techniques. Following the principles of Constraint Programming, the book consists of three distinct parts: The first chapter introduces the basic principles of Constraint Programming and provides a model of the constraints that are the most often encountered in scheduling problems. Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 are focused on the propagation of resource constraints, which usually are responsibl...

  5. Learning Dispatching Rules for Scheduling: A Synergistic View Comprising Decision Trees, Tabu Search and Simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atif Shahzad

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available A promising approach for an effective shop scheduling that synergizes the benefits of the combinatorial optimization, supervised learning and discrete-event simulation is presented. Though dispatching rules are in widely used by shop scheduling practitioners, only ordinary performance rules are known; hence, dynamic generation of dispatching rules is desired to make them more effective in changing shop conditions. Meta-heuristics are able to perform quite well and carry more knowledge of the problem domain, however at the cost of prohibitive computational effort in real-time. The primary purpose of this research lies in an offline extraction of this domain knowledge using decision trees to generate simple if-then rules that subsequently act as dispatching rules for scheduling in an online manner. We used similarity index to identify parametric and structural similarity in problem instances in order to implicitly support the learning algorithm for effective rule generation and quality index for relative ranking of the dispatching decisions. Maximum lateness is used as the scheduling objective in a job shop scheduling environment.

  6. Scheduling for decommissioning projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podmajersky, O.E.

    1987-01-01

    This paper describes the Project Scheduling system being employed by the Decommissioning Operations Contractor at the Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project (SSDP). Results from the planning system show that the project continues to achieve its cost and schedule goals. An integrated cost and schedule control system (C/SCS) which uses the concept of earned value for measurement of performance was instituted in accordance with DOE orders. The schedule and cost variances generated by the C/SCS system are used to confirm management's assessment of project status. This paper describes the types of schedules and tools used on the SSDP project to plan and monitor the work, and identifies factors that are unique to a decommissioning project that make scheduling critical to the achievement of the project's goals. 1 fig

  7. Program reference schedule baseline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-07-01

    This Program Reference Schedule Baseline (PRSB) provides the baseline Program-level milestones and associated schedules for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program. It integrates all Program-level schedule-related activities. This schedule baseline will be used by the Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), and his staff to monitor compliance with Program objectives. Chapter 1 includes brief discussions concerning the relationship of the PRSB to the Program Reference Cost Baseline (PRCB), the Mission Plan, the Project Decision Schedule, the Total System Life Cycle Cost report, the Program Management Information System report, the Program Milestone Review, annual budget preparation, and system element plans. Chapter 2 includes the identification of all Level 0, or Program-level, milestones, while Chapter 3 presents and discusses the critical path schedules that correspond to those Level 0 milestones

  8. Second-order schedules of token reinforcement with pigeons: effects of fixed- and variable-ratio exchange schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, T A; Hackenberg, T D; Vaidya, M

    2001-09-01

    Pigeons' key pecks produced food under second-order schedules of token reinforcement, with light-emitting diodes serving as token reinforcers. In Experiment 1, tokens were earned according to a fixed-ratio 50 schedule and were exchanged for food according to either fixed-ratio or variable-ratio exchange schedules, with schedule type varied across conditions. In Experiment 2, schedule type was varied within sessions using a multiple schedule. In one component, tokens were earned according to a fixed-ratio 50 schedule and exchanged according to a variable-ratio schedule. In the other component, tokens were earned according to a variable-ratio 50 schedule and exchanged according to a fixed-ratio schedule. In both experiments, the number of responses per exchange was varied parametrically across conditions, ranging from 50 to 400 responses. Response rates decreased systematically with increases in the fixed-ratio exchange schedules, but were much less affected by changes in the variable-ratio exchange schedules. Response rates were consistently higher under variable-ratio exchange schedules than tinder comparable fixed-ratio exchange schedules, especially at higher exchange ratios. These response-rate differences were due both to greater pre-ratio pausing and to lower local rates tinder the fixed-ratio exchange schedules. Local response rates increased with proximity to food under the higher fixed-ratio exchange schedules, indicative of discriminative control by the tokens.

  9. Constraint-based scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zweben, Monte

    1993-01-01

    The GERRY scheduling system developed by NASA Ames with assistance from the Lockheed Space Operations Company, and the Lockheed Artificial Intelligence Center, uses a method called constraint-based iterative repair. Using this technique, one encodes both hard rules and preference criteria into data structures called constraints. GERRY repeatedly attempts to improve schedules by seeking repairs for violated constraints. The system provides a general scheduling framework which is being tested on two NASA applications. The larger of the two is the Space Shuttle Ground Processing problem which entails the scheduling of all the inspection, repair, and maintenance tasks required to prepare the orbiter for flight. The other application involves power allocation for the NASA Ames wind tunnels. Here the system will be used to schedule wind tunnel tests with the goal of minimizing power costs. In this paper, we describe the GERRY system and its application to the Space Shuttle problem. We also speculate as to how the system would be used for manufacturing, transportation, and military problems.

  10. Improved Space Surveillance Network (SSN) Scheduling using Artificial Intelligence Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stottler, D.

    There are close to 20,000 cataloged manmade objects in space, the large majority of which are not active, functioning satellites. These are tracked by phased array and mechanical radars and ground and space-based optical telescopes, collectively known as the Space Surveillance Network (SSN). A better SSN schedule of observations could, using exactly the same legacy sensor resources, improve space catalog accuracy through more complementary tracking, provide better responsiveness to real-time changes, better track small debris in low earth orbit (LEO) through efficient use of applicable sensors, efficiently track deep space (DS) frequent revisit objects, handle increased numbers of objects and new types of sensors, and take advantage of future improved communication and control to globally optimize the SSN schedule. We have developed a scheduling algorithm that takes as input the space catalog and the associated covariance matrices and produces a globally optimized schedule for each sensor site as to what objects to observe and when. This algorithm is able to schedule more observations with the same sensor resources and have those observations be more complementary, in terms of the precision with which each orbit metric is known, to produce a satellite observation schedule that, when executed, minimizes the covariances across the entire space object catalog. If used operationally, the results would be significantly increased accuracy of the space catalog with fewer lost objects with the same set of sensor resources. This approach inherently can also trade-off fewer high priority tasks against more lower-priority tasks, when there is benefit in doing so. Currently the project has completed a prototyping and feasibility study, using open source data on the SSN's sensors, that showed significant reduction in orbit metric covariances. The algorithm techniques and results will be discussed along with future directions for the research.

  11. A Study on the Effect on Scheduling and Management of Surgeries with the Introduction of Excellent Medical Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Tsai Ching

    2016-01-01

    The services of OR play an important role in the medical business for department of surgery. The most important issue for OR is about the scheduling and management of surgeries. Good surgery schedule could elevate the utilization efficiency of OR. Therefore, the introduction of excellent medical information can both dramatically elevate the work efficiency of health care employees and reduce workload to reach win-win benefits in both management and performance.

  12. Perceptions of randomized security schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scurich, Nicholas; John, Richard S

    2014-04-01

    Security of infrastructure is a major concern. Traditional security schedules are unable to provide omnipresent coverage; consequently, adversaries can exploit predictable vulnerabilities to their advantage. Randomized security schedules, which randomly deploy security measures, overcome these limitations, but public perceptions of such schedules have not been examined. In this experiment, participants were asked to make a choice between attending a venue that employed a traditional (i.e., search everyone) or a random (i.e., a probability of being searched) security schedule. The absolute probability of detecting contraband was manipulated (i.e., 1/10, 1/4, 1/2) but equivalent between the two schedule types. In general, participants were indifferent to either security schedule, regardless of the probability of detection. The randomized schedule was deemed more convenient, but the traditional schedule was considered fairer and safer. There were no differences between traditional and random schedule in terms of perceived effectiveness or deterrence. Policy implications for the implementation and utilization of randomized schedules are discussed. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

  13. Feed-in tariff structure development for photovoltaic electricity and the associated benefits for the Kingdom of Bahrain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haji, Shaker; Durazi, Amal; Al-Alawi, Yaser

    2018-05-01

    In this study, the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme was considered to facilitate an effective introduction of renewable energy in the Kingdom of Bahrain. An economic model was developed for the estimation of feasible FIT rates for photovoltaic (PV) electricity on a residential scale. The calculations of FIT rates were based mainly on the local solar radiation, the cost of a grid-connected PV system, the operation and maintenance cost, and the provided financial support. The net present value and internal rate of return methods were selected for model evaluation with the guide of simple payback period to determine the cost of energy and feasible FIT rates under several scenarios involving different capital rebate percentages, loan down payment percentages, and PV system costs. Moreover, to capitalise on the FIT benefits, its impact on the stakeholders beyond the households was investigated in terms of natural gas savings, emissions cutback, job creation, and PV-electricity contribution towards the energy demand growth. The study recommended the introduction of the FIT scheme in the Kingdom of Bahrain due to its considerable benefits through a setup where each household would purchase the PV system through a loan, with the government and the electricity customers sharing the FIT cost.

  14. Alternate financial incentives in multi-tiered formulary systems to improve accountability for outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Richard S; Taira, Deborah A; Noh, Charles

    2003-01-01

    Drug manufacturer rebates paid to health plans and pharmacy benefit management companies have come under increased public scrutiny. Over the past several years, numerous articles have appeared in the literature encouraging a shift to a more quality-based decision-making process for health plan drug formularies. To propose a new basis for formulary placement decisions that would include consideration of health-plan-specific measures (clinical outcomes, total cost, adherence, and appropriateness of care) and align incentives for health plans, physicians, pharmacists, and pharmaceutical companies to promote high-quality care. The proposed approach builds on key components of the Pharmacy's Framework for Drug Therapy Management in the 21st Century and the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's Format for Formulary Submission, including a focus on patient outcomes and evidence-based decision making. The proposed approach would lessen the influence of drug manufacturer rebates on formulary placement by shifting the focus to appropriateness of care, clinical outcomes, patient adherence, and total cost of care. Pharmaceutical manufacturers would benefit from the focus on adherence to drug therapy and total cost of care. Health plans and pharmacy benefit management companies would gain in that they may be able to reduce efforts in drug utilization review as pharmaceutical manufacturers are given incentives to market their drugs more appropriately. Physicians and pharmacists would benefit because the rebate money would be used to provide quality-based financial incentives related to adherence and appropriate use of drugs. The implementation of this approach would be difficult and require cooperation from employers, pharmacists, pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans, and pharmacy benefit management companies. Aspects of this approach could be incorporated into existing pharmacy benefit management processes to encourage the delivery of high-quality health care.

  15. Net Pay Estimator | Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benefits > Net Pay Estimator Online Counselor Scheduler Empower Retirement Account Info Online myRnB Accessibility Net Pay Estimator Click here for the Retiree Net Pay Estimator? The net pay estimator is a useful tool to estimate your net pay under different salaries, federal withholding tax exemptions, and

  16. Increasing the reliability of production schedules in a pharmaceutical packaging department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pacciarelli, Dario; D'Ariano, Andrea

    2012-12-01

    This paper studies quantitative methods for evaluating the potential benefits of introducing new advanced tracking technologies in the pharmaceutical industry with special reference to radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID technology is an effective way for increasing the quality of the data that are used to generate production schedules, but there is a lack of scientific research to quantify the return on investment that can be achieved in practice. In this work, we distinguish two major sources of data unreliability: one is the inherent stochasticity of operations, which cannot be reduced by RFID, and the other one is the data estimation error, which can be significantly reduced by RFID. We focus on the marginal contribution of the latter quantity to the productivity of the packaging department of a pharmaceutical plant, propose a systematic method for assessing this impact and discuss its implementation in a practical test case. Our results confirm that advanced tracking technologies in combination with effective scheduling procedures show a significant potential for improving productivity. Extensions to other production environments and their issues associated with scheduling problems are also discussed.

  17. How should periods without social interaction be scheduled? Children's preference for practical schedules of positive reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luczynski, Kevin C; Hanley, Gregory P

    2014-01-01

    Several studies have shown that children prefer contingent reinforcement (CR) rather than yoked noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) when continuous reinforcement is programmed in the CR schedule. Preference has not, however, been evaluated for practical schedules that involve CR. In Study 1, we assessed 5 children's preference for obtaining social interaction via a multiple schedule (periods of fixed-ratio 1 reinforcement alternating with periods of extinction), a briefly signaled delayed reinforcement schedule, and an NCR schedule. The multiple schedule promoted the most efficient level of responding. In general, children chose to experience the multiple schedule and avoided the delay and NCR schedules, indicating that they preferred multiple schedules as the means to arrange practical schedules of social interaction. In Study 2, we evaluated potential controlling variables that influenced 1 child's preference for the multiple schedule and found that the strong positive contingency was the primary variable. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  18. Hybrid Scheduling/Signal-Level Coordination in the Downlink of Multi-Cloud Radio-Access Networks

    KAUST Repository

    Douik, Ahmed

    2016-03-28

    In the context of resource allocation in cloud- radio access networks, recent studies assume either signal-level or scheduling-level coordination. This paper, instead, considers a hybrid level of coordination for the scheduling problem in the downlink of a multi-cloud radio- access network, so as to benefit from both scheduling policies. Consider a multi-cloud radio access network, where each cloud is connected to several base-stations (BSs) via high capacity links, and therefore allows joint signal processing between them. Across the multiple clouds, however, only scheduling-level coordination is permitted, as it requires a lower level of backhaul communication. The frame structure of every BS is composed of various time/frequency blocks, called power- zones (PZs), and kept at fixed power level. The paper addresses the problem of maximizing a network-wide utility by associating users to clouds and scheduling them to the PZs, under the practical constraints that each user is scheduled, at most, to a single cloud, but possibly to many BSs within the cloud, and can be served by one or more distinct PZs within the BSs\\' frame. The paper solves the problem using graph theory techniques by constructing the conflict graph. The scheduling problem is, then, shown to be equivalent to a maximum- weight independent set problem in the constructed graph, in which each vertex symbolizes an association of cloud, user, BS and PZ, with a weight representing the utility of that association. Simulation results suggest that the proposed hybrid scheduling strategy provides appreciable gain as compared to the scheduling-level coordinated networks, with a negligible degradation to signal-level coordination.

  19. Multisensors Cooperative Detection Task Scheduling Algorithm Based on Hybrid Task Decomposition and MBPSO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changyun Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A multisensor scheduling algorithm based on the hybrid task decomposition and modified binary particle swarm optimization (MBPSO is proposed. Firstly, aiming at the complex relationship between sensor resources and tasks, a hybrid task decomposition method is presented, and the resource scheduling problem is decomposed into subtasks; then the sensor resource scheduling problem is changed into the match problem of sensors and subtasks. Secondly, the resource match optimization model based on the sensor resources and tasks is established, which considers several factors, such as the target priority, detecting benefit, handover times, and resource load. Finally, MBPSO algorithm is proposed to solve the match optimization model effectively, which is based on the improved updating means of particle’s velocity and position through the doubt factor and modified Sigmoid function. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is better in terms of convergence velocity, searching capability, solution accuracy, and efficiency.

  20. The comparison of predictive scheduling algorithms for different sizes of job shop scheduling problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paprocka, I.; Kempa, W. M.; Grabowik, C.; Kalinowski, K.; Krenczyk, D.

    2016-08-01

    In the paper a survey of predictive and reactive scheduling methods is done in order to evaluate how the ability of prediction of reliability characteristics influences over robustness criteria. The most important reliability characteristics are: Mean Time to Failure, Mean Time of Repair. Survey analysis is done for a job shop scheduling problem. The paper answers the question: what method generates robust schedules in the case of a bottleneck failure occurrence before, at the beginning of planned maintenance actions or after planned maintenance actions? Efficiency of predictive schedules is evaluated using criteria: makespan, total tardiness, flow time, idle time. Efficiency of reactive schedules is evaluated using: solution robustness criterion and quality robustness criterion. This paper is the continuation of the research conducted in the paper [1], where the survey of predictive and reactive scheduling methods is done only for small size scheduling problems.

  1. Scheduling with Time Lags

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    X. Zhang (Xiandong)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractScheduling is essential when activities need to be allocated to scarce resources over time. Motivated by the problem of scheduling barges along container terminals in the Port of Rotterdam, this thesis designs and analyzes algorithms for various on-line and off-line scheduling problems

  2. Automated Scheduling Via Artificial Intelligence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biefeld, Eric W.; Cooper, Lynne P.

    1991-01-01

    Artificial-intelligence software that automates scheduling developed in Operations Mission Planner (OMP) research project. Software used in both generation of new schedules and modification of existing schedules in view of changes in tasks and/or available resources. Approach based on iterative refinement. Although project focused upon scheduling of operations of scientific instruments and other equipment aboard spacecraft, also applicable to such terrestrial problems as scheduling production in factory.

  3. Schedule Analytics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-30

    Warfare, Naval Sea Systems Command Acquisition Cycle Time : Defining the Problem David Tate, Institute for Defense Analyses Schedule Analytics Jennifer...research was comprised of the following high- level steps :  Identify and review primary data sources 1...research. However, detailed reviews of the OMB IT Dashboard data revealed that schedule data is highly aggregated. Program start date and program end date

  4. Preemptive scheduling with rejection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogeveen, H.; Skutella, M.; Woeginger, Gerhard

    2003-01-01

    We consider the problem of preemptively scheduling a set of n jobs on m (identical, uniformly related, or unrelated) parallel machines. The scheduler may reject a subset of the jobs and thereby incur job-dependent penalties for each rejected job, and he must construct a schedule for the remaining

  5. Preemptive scheduling with rejection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogeveen, J.A.; Skutella, M.; Woeginger, G.J.; Paterson, M.

    2000-01-01

    We consider the problem of preemptively scheduling a set of n jobs on m (identical, uniformly related, or unrelated) parallel machines. The scheduler may reject a subset of the jobs and thereby incur job-dependent penalties for each rejected job, and he must construct a schedule for the remaining

  6. Prioritizing and scheduling Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant safeguards upgrades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edmunds, T.; Saleh, R.; Zevanove, S.

    1992-02-01

    As part of the Site Safeguards and Security Plan (SSSP), facilities are required to develop a Resource Plan (RP). The Resource Plan provides documentation and justification for the facility's planned upgrades, including the schedule, priority, and cost estimates for the safeguards and security upgrades. Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) management has identified and obtained funding approval for a number of safeguards and security upgrades, including line-item construction projects. These upgrade projects were selected to address a variety of concerns identified in the PORTS vulnerability assessments and other reviews performed in support of the SSSP process. However, budgeting and scheduling constraints do not make it possible to simultaneously begin implementation of all of the upgrade projects. A formal methodology and analysis are needed to explicitly address the trade-offs between competing safeguards objectives, and to prioritize and schedule the upgrade projects to ensure that the maximum benefit can be realized in the shortest possible time frame. The purpose of this report is to describe the methodology developed to support these upgrade project scheduling decisions. The report also presents the results obtained from applying the methodology to a set of the upgrade projects selected by PORTS S ampersand S management. Data for the analysis are based on discussions with personnel familiar with the PORTS safeguards and security needs, the requirements for implementing these upgrades, and upgrade funding limitations. The analysis results presented here assume continued highly enriched uranium (HEU) operations at PORTS. However, the methodology developed is readily adaptable for the evaluation of other operational scenarios and other resource allocation issues relevant to PORTS

  7. Benefits Assessment for Tactical Runway Configuration Management Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oseguera-Lohr, Rosa; Phojanamongkolkij, Nipa; Lohr, Gary; Fenbert, James W.

    2013-01-01

    The Tactical Runway Configuration Management (TRCM) software tool was developed to provide air traffic flow managers and supervisors with recommendations for airport configuration changes and runway usage. The objective for this study is to conduct a benefits assessment at Memphis (MEM), Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) and New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) airports using the TRCM tool. Results from simulations using the TRCM-generated runway configuration schedule are compared with results using historical schedules. For the 12 days of data used in this analysis, the transit time (arrival fix to spot on airport movement area for arrivals, or spot to departure fix for departures) for MEM departures is greater (7%) than for arrivals (3%); for JFK, there is a benefit for arrivals (9%) but not for departures (-2%); for DFW, arrivals show a slight benefit (1%), but this is offset by departures (-2%). Departure queue length benefits show fewer aircraft in queue for JFK (29%) and MEM (11%), but not for DFW (-13%). Fuel savings for surface operations at MEM are seen for both arrivals and departures. At JFK there are fuel savings for arrivals, but these are offset by increased fuel use for departures. In this study, no surface fuel benefits resulted for DFW. Results suggest that the TRCM algorithm requires modifications for complex surface traffic operations that can cause taxi delays. For all three airports, the average number of changes in flow direction (runway configuration) recommended by TRCM was many times greater than the historical data; TRCM would need to be adapted to a particular airport's needs, to limit the number of changes to acceptable levels. The results from this analysis indicate the TRCM tool can provide benefits at some high-capacity airports. The magnitude of these benefits depends on many airport-specific factors and would require adaptation of the TRCM tool; a detailed assessment is needed prior to determining suitability for a particular airport.

  8. Designing cyclic appointment schedules for outpatient clinics with scheduled and unscheduled patient arrivals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kortbeek, Nikky; Zonderland, Maartje E.; Braaksma, Aleida; Vliegen, Ingrid M. H.; Boucherie, Richard J.; Litvak, Nelly; Hans, Erwin W.

    2014-01-01

    We present a methodology to design appointment systems for outpatient clinics and diagnostic facilities that offer both walk-in and scheduled service. The developed blueprint for the appointment schedule prescribes the number of appointments to plan per day and the moment on the day to schedule the

  9. Designing cyclic appointment schedules for outpatient clinics with scheduled and unscheduled patient arrivals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kortbeek, Nikky; Zonderland, Maartje Elisabeth; Boucherie, Richardus J.; Litvak, Nelli; Hans, Elias W.

    2011-01-01

    We present a methodology to design appointment systems for outpatient clinics and diagnostic facilities that offer both walk-in and scheduled service. The developed blueprint for the appointment schedule prescribes the number of appointments to plan per day and the moment on the day to schedule the

  10. NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-03-01

    Title 44 United States Code, ''Public Printing and Documents,'' regulations cited in the General Services Administration's (GSA) ''Federal Information Resources Management Regulations'' (FIRMR), Part 201-9, ''Creation, Maintenance, and Use of Records,'' and regulation issued by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 36 CFR Chapter XII, Subchapter B, ''Records Management,'' require each agency to prepare and issue a comprehensive records disposition schedule that contains the NARA approved records disposition schedules for records unique to the agency and contains the NARA's General Records Schedules for records common to several or all agencies. The approved records disposition schedules specify the appropriate duration of retention and the final disposition for records created or maintained by the NRC. NUREG-0910, Rev. 2, contains ''NRC's Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule,'' and the original authorized approved citation numbers issued by NARA. Rev. 2 totally reorganizes the records schedules from a functional arrangement to an arrangement by the host office. A subject index and a conversion table have also been developed for the NRC schedules to allow staff to identify the new schedule numbers easily and to improve their ability to locate applicable schedules

  11. High-Speed Train Stop-Schedule Optimization Based on Passenger Travel Convenience

    OpenAIRE

    Dingjun Chen; Shaoquan Ni; Chang’an Xu; Hongxia Lv; Simin Wang

    2016-01-01

    The stop-schedules for passenger trains are important to the operation planning of high-speed trains, and they decide the quality of passenger service and the transportation efficiency. This paper analyzes the specific manifestation of passenger travel convenience and proposes the concepts of interstation accessibility and degree of accessibility. In consideration of both the economic benefits of railway corporations and the travel convenience of passengers, a multitarget optimization model i...

  12. Integrating Preventive Maintenance Scheduling As Probability Machine Failure And Batch Production Scheduling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahedi Zahedi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses integrated model of batch production scheduling and machine maintenance scheduling. Batch production scheduling uses minimize total actual flow time criteria and machine maintenance scheduling uses the probability of machine failure based on Weibull distribution. The model assumed no nonconforming parts in a planning horizon. The model shows an increase in the number of the batch (length of production run up to a certain limit will minimize the total actual flow time. Meanwhile, an increase in the length of production run will implicate an increase in the number of PM. An example was given to show how the model and algorithm work.

  13. CMS readiness for multi-core workload scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Calero Yzquierdo, A.; Balcas, J.; Hernandez, J.; Aftab Khan, F.; Letts, J.; Mason, D.; Verguilov, V.

    2017-10-01

    In the present run of the LHC, CMS data reconstruction and simulation algorithms benefit greatly from being executed as multiple threads running on several processor cores. The complexity of the Run 2 events requires parallelization of the code to reduce the memory-per- core footprint constraining serial execution programs, thus optimizing the exploitation of present multi-core processor architectures. The allocation of computing resources for multi-core tasks, however, becomes a complex problem in itself. The CMS workload submission infrastructure employs multi-slot partitionable pilots, built on HTCondor and GlideinWMS native features, to enable scheduling of single and multi-core jobs simultaneously. This provides a solution for the scheduling problem in a uniform way across grid sites running a diversity of gateways to compute resources and batch system technologies. This paper presents this strategy and the tools on which it has been implemented. The experience of managing multi-core resources at the Tier-0 and Tier-1 sites during 2015, along with the deployment phase to Tier-2 sites during early 2016 is reported. The process of performance monitoring and optimization to achieve efficient and flexible use of the resources is also described.

  14. CMS Readiness for Multi-Core Workload Scheduling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perez-Calero Yzquierdo, A. [Madrid, CIEMAT; Balcas, J. [Caltech; Hernandez, J. [Madrid, CIEMAT; Aftab Khan, F. [NCP, Islamabad; Letts, J. [UC, San Diego; Mason, D. [Fermilab; Verguilov, V. [CLMI, Sofia

    2017-11-22

    In the present run of the LHC, CMS data reconstruction and simulation algorithms benefit greatly from being executed as multiple threads running on several processor cores. The complexity of the Run 2 events requires parallelization of the code to reduce the memory-per- core footprint constraining serial execution programs, thus optimizing the exploitation of present multi-core processor architectures. The allocation of computing resources for multi-core tasks, however, becomes a complex problem in itself. The CMS workload submission infrastructure employs multi-slot partitionable pilots, built on HTCondor and GlideinWMS native features, to enable scheduling of single and multi-core jobs simultaneously. This provides a solution for the scheduling problem in a uniform way across grid sites running a diversity of gateways to compute resources and batch system technologies. This paper presents this strategy and the tools on which it has been implemented. The experience of managing multi-core resources at the Tier-0 and Tier-1 sites during 2015, along with the deployment phase to Tier-2 sites during early 2016 is reported. The process of performance monitoring and optimization to achieve efficient and flexible use of the resources is also described.

  15. NASA Schedule Management Handbook

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of schedule management is to provide the framework for time-phasing, resource planning, coordination, and communicating the necessary tasks within a work effort. The intent is to improve schedule management by providing recommended concepts, processes, and techniques used within the Agency and private industry. The intended function of this handbook is two-fold: first, to provide guidance for meeting the scheduling requirements contained in NPR 7120.5, NASA Space Flight Program and Project Management Requirements, NPR 7120.7, NASA Information Technology and Institutional Infrastructure Program and Project Requirements, NPR 7120.8, NASA Research and Technology Program and Project Management Requirements, and NPD 1000.5, Policy for NASA Acquisition. The second function is to describe the schedule management approach and the recommended best practices for carrying out this project control function. With regards to the above project management requirements documents, it should be noted that those space flight projects previously established and approved under the guidance of prior versions of NPR 7120.5 will continue to comply with those requirements until project completion has been achieved. This handbook will be updated as needed, to enhance efficient and effective schedule management across the Agency. It is acknowledged that most, if not all, external organizations participating in NASA programs/projects will have their own internal schedule management documents. Issues that arise from conflicting schedule guidance will be resolved on a case by case basis as contracts and partnering relationships are established. It is also acknowledged and understood that all projects are not the same and may require different levels of schedule visibility, scrutiny and control. Project type, value, and complexity are factors that typically dictate which schedule management practices should be employed.

  16. Simulating Harvest Schedule for Timber Management and Multipurpose Management in Teak Plantations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatang Tiryana

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable management of teak plantations in Java requires an improvement of the existing yield regulation method to optimize multiple benefits of the plantations at risk of stand destruction. This study was therefore aimed to formulate an alternative harvest scheduling model that integrates risk of stand destruction for supporting multipurpose management of teak plantations. The proposed model used a state-space planning model to simulate the dynamic of plantations due to timber harvesting and stand destruction, and then sought optimal solutions for 2 management scenarios, i.e. timber management that optimized total harvest volume and multipurpose management that optimized net present value (NPV while increasing carbon stocks. Using a case study on a typical teak plantation, this study confirmed that increasing destruction rates reduced harvest volumes, NPV, carbon stocks, and resulted in imbalanced ending age-class structures. Reducing cutting-age limit increased harvest volumes and NPV, but it also reduced carbon stocks of the plantations. Although the multipurpose management generated lower financial benefit, it maintained carbon stocks and produced better ending age-class structures compared to timber management. The proposed harvest scheduling model provides a useful planning tool for managing teak plantations.

  17. Aspects if stochastic models for short-term hydropower scheduling and bidding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belsnes, Michael Martin [Sintef Energy, Trondheim (Norway); Follestad, Turid [Sintef Energy, Trondheim (Norway); Wolfgang, Ove [Sintef Energy, Trondheim (Norway); Fosso, Olav B. [Dep. of electric power engineering NTNU, Trondheim (Norway)

    2012-07-01

    This report discusses challenges met when turning from deterministic to stochastic decision support models for short-term hydropower scheduling and bidding. The report describes characteristics of the short-term scheduling and bidding problem, different market and bidding strategies, and how a stochastic optimization model can be formulated. A review of approaches for stochastic short-term modelling and stochastic modelling for the input variables inflow and market prices is given. The report discusses methods for approximating the predictive distribution of uncertain variables by scenario trees. Benefits of using a stochastic over a deterministic model are illustrated by a case study, where increased profit is obtained to a varying degree depending on the reservoir filling and price structure. Finally, an approach for assessing the effect of using a size restricted scenario tree to approximate the predictive distribution for stochastic input variables is described. The report is a summary of the findings of Work package 1 of the research project #Left Double Quotation Mark#Optimal short-term scheduling of wind and hydro resources#Right Double Quotation Mark#. The project aims at developing a prototype for an operational stochastic short-term scheduling model. Based on the investigations summarized in the report, it is concluded that using a deterministic equivalent formulation of the stochastic optimization problem is convenient and sufficient for obtaining a working prototype. (author)

  18. Outage scheduling and implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allison, J.E.; Segall, P.; Smith, R.R.

    1986-01-01

    Successful preparation and implementation of an outage schedule and completion of scheduled and emergent work within an identified critical path time frame is a result of careful coordination by Operations, Work Control, Maintenance, Engineering, Planning and Administration and others. At the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) careful planning has been responsible for meeting all scheduled outage critical paths

  19. Project Schedule Simulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mizouni, Rabeb; Lazarova-Molnar, Sanja

    2015-01-01

    overrun both their budget and time. To improve the quality of initial project plans, we show in this paper the importance of (1) reflecting features’ priorities/risk in task schedules and (2) considering uncertainties related to human factors in plan schedules. To make simulation tasks reflect features......’ priority as well as multimodal team allocation, enhanced project schedules (EPS), where remedial actions scenarios (RAS) are added, were introduced. They reflect potential schedule modifications in case of uncertainties and promote a dynamic sequencing of involved tasks rather than the static conventional...... this document as an instruction set. The electronic file of your paper will be formatted further at Journal of Software. Define all symbols used in the abstract. Do not cite references in the abstract. Do not delete the blank line immediately above the abstract; it sets the footnote at the bottom of this column....

  20. Scheduling theory, algorithms, and systems

    CERN Document Server

    Pinedo, Michael L

    2016-01-01

    This new edition of the well-established text Scheduling: Theory, Algorithms, and Systems provides an up-to-date coverage of important theoretical models in the scheduling literature as well as important scheduling problems that appear in the real world. The accompanying website includes supplementary material in the form of slide-shows from industry as well as movies that show actual implementations of scheduling systems. The main structure of the book, as per previous editions, consists of three parts. The first part focuses on deterministic scheduling and the related combinatorial problems. The second part covers probabilistic scheduling models; in this part it is assumed that processing times and other problem data are random and not known in advance. The third part deals with scheduling in practice; it covers heuristics that are popular with practitioners and discusses system design and implementation issues. All three parts of this new edition have been revamped, streamlined, and extended. The reference...

  1. Gain scheduling using the Youla parameterization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niemann, Hans Henrik; Stoustrup, Jakob

    1999-01-01

    Gain scheduling controllers are considered in this paper. The gain scheduling problem where the scheduling parameter vector cannot be measured directly, but needs to be estimated is considered. An estimation of the scheduling vector has been derived by using the Youla parameterization. The use...... in connection with H_inf gain scheduling controllers....

  2. NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-07-01

    Effective January 1, 1982, NRC will institute records retention and disposal practices in accordance with the approved Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule (CRDS). CRDS is comprised of NRC Schedules (NRCS) 1 to 4 which apply to the agency's program or substantive records and General Records Schedules (GRS) 1 to 22 which apply to housekeeping or facilitative records. The schedules are assembled functionally/organizationally to facilitate their use. Preceding the records descriptions and disposition instructions for both NRCS and GRS, there are brief statements on the organizational units which accumulate the records in each functional area, and other information regarding the schedules' applicability

  3. Do scheduled caste and scheduled tribe women legislators mean lower gender-caste gaps in primary schooling in India?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halim, Nafisa; Yount, Kathryn M; Cunningham, Solveig

    2016-07-01

    Despite India's substantial investments in primary schooling, gaps in schooling persist across gender and caste-with scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC/ST) girls being particularly disadvantaged. The representation of SC/ST women in state legislatures may help to mitigate this disadvantage. Specifically, because of her intersecting gender and caste/tribe identities, a SC/ST woman legislator might maintain a strong sense of solidarity especially with SC/ST girls and women, and support legislative policies benefitting SC/ST girls. Consequently, for this reason, we expect that living in a district where SC/ST women represent in state legislatures in a higher proportion may increase SC/ST girls' primary school completion, progression and performance. We tested this hypothesis using district-level data between 2000 and 2004 from the Indian Election Commission, the 2004/5 India Human Development Survey, and the Indian Census of 2001. As expected, the representation of SC/ST women in state legislatures was positively associated with SC/ST girls' grade completion and age-appropriate grade progression but was apparent not SC/ST girls' primary-school performance. SC/ST women's representation in state legislatures may reduce gender-caste gaps in primary-school attainment in India. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  4. A sequential erythropoietin and GM-CSF schedule offers clinical benefits in the treatment of anaemia in myelodysplastic syndromes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernell, P; Stenke, L; Wallvik, J; Hippe, E; Hast, R

    1996-08-01

    In order to reduce anaemia in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) a stepwise treatment protocol including erythropoietin (EP) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was designed. Thirty-seven MDS patients (stages I-III) with symptomatic anaemia were first given EPO 10,000 U s.c. 3 times weekly for 6 weeks. Those not responding, i.e. increased their haemoglobin levels > 15 g/l, proceeded into the second phase of the study where GM-CSF (200 micrograms/d. s.c. on weeks 1-6) was combined with EPO (10,000 U s.c. 3 times weekly on weeks 5-14). Following the initial EPO treatment phase, 14 of the 37 patients (38%) responded with increased haemoglobin levels. Responders were significantly different from non-responders in that their pre-treatment values of s-EPO, s-LDH and bone marrow blast cell counts were lower, their baseline haemoglobin levels higher and their transfusion dependency less pronounced. Eighteen of the 23 non-responders proceeded into the second phase, 13 of those were evaluable having completed the entire schedule. Three of the 13 initially EPO resistant patients (23%) responded to the GM-CSF/EPO combination with increased haemoglobin levels, suggesting a positive synergy between the two cytokines. Thus, the overall response rate to the present protocol was 46% (17 of 37 cases), but only a limited subset of the patients did clearly benefit from the combined GM-CSF/EPO administration. Therefore, we believe this step-wise approach to multiple growth factor treatment in MDS, starting with EPO alone and reserving the combination for refractory cases, has considerable advantages, taking into account both medical and socio-economical aspects.

  5. A cost/schedule and control system for the environmental restoration program Albuquerque Field Office

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fiske, Wanda S.; Bischoff, Edward L.; Rea, Kenneth H.; Dwain Farley, P.; Biedermann, Charles A.

    1992-01-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) Field Office Albuquerque (AL), Environmental Restoration Project Office (ERPO), has developed a project management system used to plan, document, and control Environmental Restoration (ER) work at eight installations and one superfund site managed by AL. This system emphasizes control of the cost, schedule, and technical elements of the Program. It supports programmatic documentation such as the Environmental Restoration/Waste Management Five-Year Plan, Site Specific Plan, and budget requests. The System provides information used to manage the ER Program at all levels of management (i.e., from low-level day-to-day activities to high-level upper management). The System requires substantial effort to ensure reliability; however, the benefit to ERPO is an effective, proactive project management tool. This paper provides an overview of the ERPO System, an explanation of how it is implemented, and lessons learned from this process. Application of the System to cost estimating, annual and five-year budget preparation, resource projections, scheduling, and cost/schedule performance measurement is discussed. Also discussed are cost/schedule review procedures, along with variance identification and resolution. Examples are taken from the Pinellas ER Program. (author)

  6. It Is Not Just about the Schedule: Key Factors in Effective Reference Desk Scheduling and Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sciammarella, Susan; Fernandes, Maria Isabel; McKay, Devin

    2008-01-01

    Reference desk scheduling is one of the most challenging tasks in the organizational structure of an academic library. The ability to turn this challenge into a workable and effective function lies with the scheduler and indirectly the cooperation of all librarians scheduled for reference desk service. It is the scheduler's sensitivity to such…

  7. Constrained consumption shifting management in the distributed energy resources scheduling considering demand response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faria, Pedro; Vale, Zita; Baptista, Jose

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Consumption reduction and/or shift to several periods before and after. • Optimization problem for scheduling of demand response and distributed generation. • Minimization of the Virtual Power Player operation (remuneration) costs. • Demand response can be efficient to meet distributed generation shortages. • Consumers benefit with the remuneration of the participation in demand response. - Abstract: Demand response concept has been gaining increasing importance while the success of several recent implementations makes this resource benefits unquestionable. This happens in a power systems operation environment that also considers an intensive use of distributed generation. However, more adequate approaches and models are needed in order to address the small size consumers and producers aggregation, while taking into account these resources goals. The present paper focuses on the demand response programs and distributed generation resources management by a Virtual Power Player that optimally aims to minimize its operation costs taking the consumption shifting constraints into account. The impact of the consumption shifting in the distributed generation resources schedule is also considered. The methodology is applied to three scenarios based on 218 consumers and 4 types of distributed generation, in a time frame of 96 periods

  8. Approximating Preemptive Stochastic Scheduling

    OpenAIRE

    Megow Nicole; Vredeveld Tjark

    2009-01-01

    We present constant approximative policies for preemptive stochastic scheduling. We derive policies with a guaranteed performance ratio of 2 for scheduling jobs with release dates on identical parallel machines subject to minimizing the sum of weighted completion times. Our policies as well as their analysis apply also to the recently introduced more general model of stochastic online scheduling. The performance guarantee we give matches the best result known for the corresponding determinist...

  9. Collaborative Scheduling between OSPPs and Gasholders in Steel Mill under Time-of-Use Power Price

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juxian Hao

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Byproduct gases generated during steel production process are the main fuels for on-site power plants (OSPPs in steel enterprises. Recently, with the implementation of time-of-use (TOU power price in China, increasing attention has been paid to the collaborative scheduling between OSPPs and gasholders. However, the load shifting potential of OSPPs has seldom been discussed in previous studies. In this paper, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP-based scheduling model is built to evaluate the load shifting potential and the corresponding economic benefits. A case study is conducted on two steel enterprises with different configurations of OSPPs, and the optimal operation strategy is also discussed.

  10. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of ortho-Fluorofentanyl, Tetrahydrofuranyl Fentanyl, and Methoxyacetyl Fentanyl Into Schedule I. Temporary amendment; temporary scheduling order.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-26

    The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing this temporary scheduling order to schedule the synthetic opioids, N-(2-fluorophenyl)-N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)propionamide (ortho-fluorofentanyl or 2-fluorofentanyl), N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)-N-phenyltetrahydrofuran-2-carboxamide (tetrahydrofuranyl fentanyl), and 2-methoxy-N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)-N-phenylacetamide (methoxyacetyl fentanyl), into Schedule I. This action is based on a finding by the Administrator that the placement of ortho-fluorofentanyl, tetrahydrofuranyl fentanyl, and methoxyacetyl fentanyl into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. As a result of this order, the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to Schedule I controlled substances will be imposed on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess), or propose to handle, ortho-fluorofentanyl, tetrahydrofuranyl fentanyl, and methoxyacetyl fentanyl.

  11. Variable Scheduling to Mitigate Channel Losses in Energy-Efficient Body Area Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lavy Libman

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available We consider a typical body area network (BAN setting in which sensor nodes send data to a common hub regularly on a TDMA basis, as defined by the emerging IEEE 802.15.6 BAN standard. To reduce transmission losses caused by the highly dynamic nature of the wireless channel around the human body, we explore variable TDMA scheduling techniques that allow the order of transmissions within each TDMA round to be decided on the fly, rather than being fixed in advance. Using a simple Markov model of the wireless links, we devise a number of scheduling algorithms that can be performed by the hub, which aim to maximize the expected number of successful transmissions in a TDMA round, and thereby significantly reduce transmission losses as compared with a static TDMA schedule. Importantly, these algorithms do not require a priori knowledge of the statistical properties of the wireless channels, and the reliability improvement is achieved entirely via shuffling the order of transmissions among devices, and does not involve any additional energy consumption (e.g., retransmissions. We evaluate these algorithms directly on an experimental set of traces obtained from devices strapped to human subjects performing regular daily activities, and confirm that the benefits of the proposed variable scheduling algorithms extend to this practical setup as well.

  12. Schedule-Aware Workflow Management Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mans, Ronny S.; Russell, Nick C.; van der Aalst, Wil M. P.; Moleman, Arnold J.; Bakker, Piet J. M.

    Contemporary workflow management systems offer work-items to users through specific work-lists. Users select the work-items they will perform without having a specific schedule in mind. However, in many environments work needs to be scheduled and performed at particular times. For example, in hospitals many work-items are linked to appointments, e.g., a doctor cannot perform surgery without reserving an operating theater and making sure that the patient is present. One of the problems when applying workflow technology in such domains is the lack of calendar-based scheduling support. In this paper, we present an approach that supports the seamless integration of unscheduled (flow) and scheduled (schedule) tasks. Using CPN Tools we have developed a specification and simulation model for schedule-aware workflow management systems. Based on this a system has been realized that uses YAWL, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Outlook, and a dedicated scheduling service. The approach is illustrated using a real-life case study at the AMC hospital in the Netherlands. In addition, we elaborate on the experiences obtained when developing and implementing a system of this scale using formal techniques.

  13. Revisiting Symbiotic Job Scheduling

    OpenAIRE

    Eyerman , Stijn; Michaud , Pierre; Rogiest , Wouter

    2015-01-01

    International audience; —Symbiotic job scheduling exploits the fact that in a system with shared resources, the performance of jobs is impacted by the behavior of other co-running jobs. By coscheduling combinations of jobs that have low interference, the performance of a system can be increased. In this paper, we investigate the impact of using symbiotic job scheduling for increasing throughput. We find that even for a theoretically optimal scheduler, this impact is very low, despite the subs...

  14. Self-scheduling with Microsoft Excel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvin, S A; Brown, H N

    1999-01-01

    Excessive time was being spent by the emergency department (ED) staff, head nurse, and unit secretary on a complex 6-week manual self-scheduling system. This issue, plus inevitable errors and staff dissatisfaction, resulted in a manager-lead initiative to automate elements of the scheduling process using Microsoft Excel. The implementation of this initiative included: common coding of all 8-hour and 12-hour shifts, with each 4-hour period represented by a cell; the creation of a 6-week master schedule using the "count-if" function of Excel based on current staffing guidelines; staff time-off requests then entered by the department secretary; the head nurse, with staff input, then fine-tuned the schedule to provide even unit coverage. Outcomes of these changes included an increase in staff satisfaction, time saved by the head nurse, and staff work time saved because there was less arguing about the schedule. Ultimately, the automated self-scheduling method was expanded to the entire 700-bed hospital.

  15. A master surgical scheduling approach for cyclic scheduling in operating room departments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oostrum, Jeroen M.; van Houdenhoven, M.; Hurink, Johann L.; Hans, Elias W.; Wullink, Gerhard; Kazemier, G.

    This paper addresses the problem of operating room (OR) scheduling at the tactical level of hospital planning and control. Hospitals repetitively construct operating room schedules, which is a time-consuming, tedious, and complex task. The stochasticity of the durations of surgical procedures

  16. Comparison of 2-Dose and 3-Dose 9-Valent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Schedules in the United States: A Cost-effectiveness Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laprise, Jean-François; Markowitz, Lauri E; Chesson, Harrell W; Drolet, Mélanie; Brisson, Marc

    2016-09-01

    A recent clinical trial using the 9-valent human papillomavirus virus (HPV) vaccine has shown that antibody responses after 2 doses are noninferior to those after 3 doses, suggesting that 2 and 3 doses may have comparable vaccine efficacy. We used an individual-based transmission-dynamic model to compare the population-level effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of 2- and 3-dose schedules of 9-valent HPV vaccine in the United States. Our model predicts that if 2 doses of 9-valent vaccine protect for ≥20 years, the additional benefits of a 3-dose schedule are small as compared to those of 2-dose schedules, and 2-dose schedules are likely much more cost-efficient than 3-dose schedules. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Immunization Schedules for Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... ACIP Vaccination Recommendations Why Immunize? Vaccines: The Basics Immunization Schedule for Adults (19 Years of Age and ... diseases that can be prevented by vaccines . 2018 Immunization Schedule Recommended Vaccinations for Adults by Age and ...

  18. Instant Childhood Immunization Schedule

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Recommendations Why Immunize? Vaccines: The Basics Instant Childhood Immunization Schedule Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir Get ... date. See Disclaimer for additional details. Based on Immunization Schedule for Children 0 through 6 Years of ...

  19. Nontraditional work schedules for pharmacists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahaney, Lynnae; Sanborn, Michael; Alexander, Emily

    2008-11-15

    Nontraditional work schedules for pharmacists at three institutions are described. The demand for pharmacists and health care in general continues to increase, yet significant material changes are occurring in the pharmacy work force. These changing demographics, coupled with historical vacancy rates and turnover trends for pharmacy staff, require an increased emphasis on workplace changes that can improve staff recruitment and retention. At William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Affairs Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, creative pharmacist work schedules and roles are now mainstays to the recruitment and retention of staff. The major challenge that such scheduling presents is the 8 hours needed to prepare a six-week schedule. Baylor Medical Center at Grapevine in Dallas, Texas, has a total of 45 pharmacy employees, and slightly less than half of the 24.5 full-time-equivalent staff work full-time, with most preferring to work one, two, or three days per week. As long as the coverage needs of the facility are met, Envision Telepharmacy in Alpine, Texas, allows almost any scheduling arrangement preferred by individual pharmacists or the pharmacist group covering the facility. Staffing involves a great variety of shift lengths and intervals, with shifts ranging from 2 to 10 hours. Pharmacy leaders must be increasingly aware of opportunities to provide staff with unique scheduling and operational enhancements that can provide for a better work-life balance. Compressed workweeks, job-sharing, and team scheduling were the most common types of alternative work schedules implemented at three different institutions.

  20. The scheduling of repeat cesarean section operations: prospective management protocol experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Read, J A

    1985-03-01

    There are benefits to patients and a busy obstetric service if repeat cesarean section operations are performed on a scheduled basis. Optimum management avoids prematurity and reduces the need for amniocentesis. Over a period of 20 months repeat cesarean sections were performed at Tripler Army Medical Center while a protocol with the following elements was used: (1) known last menstrual period; (2) landmarks: positive urine human chorionic gonadotropin test by 6 weeks, Doppler fetal heart tone by 12 weeks, date determination by examination before 10 weeks, fetoscope fetal heart tone by 20 weeks, and date determination by size before 30 weeks; (3) date determination by midtrimester sonogram(s); (4) normal third-trimester glucose screening; (5) biparietal diameter of 9.2 or 9.5 cm before scheduling. With two or more clinical landmarks and one date by sonogram or one landmark and date by two sonograms, elective repeat cesarean section was scheduled at 39 weeks if the biparietal diameter was greater than or equal to 9.2 cm (127). If dates by sonogram were less than dates by last menstrual period but greater than 1 week or if last menstrual period was unknown, dates by sonogram and landmarks corresponding to dates by sonogram were used to electively schedule, with biparietal diameters of 9.2 or 9.5 cm respectively required (28). If protocol criteria were not met or earlier delivery was indicated (e.g., vertical scar or diabetes), amniocentesis was performed (42), except when not possible, advisable, or refused when patients either elected labor (20) or were scheduled if three or more criteria for 40+ weeks were met (18). Of 225 patients (70.5%) scheduled by protocol (173), amniocentesis (34), or medical indication (18), 188 (58.9%) were delivered without labor. In the 147 patients (46.1%) delivered electively by protocol without labor or amniocentesis, there were no cases of respiratory distress syndrome and the mean birth weight was 3517 gm. With early care and better

  1. BIM-BASED SCHEDULING OF CONSTRUCTION

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersson, Niclas; Büchmann-Slorup, Rolf

    2010-01-01

    The potential of BIM is generally recognized in the construction industry, but the practical application of BIM for management purposes is, however, still limited among contractors. The objective of this study is to review the current scheduling process of construction in light of BIM...... and communicate. Scheduling on the detailed level, on the other hand, follows a stipulated approach to scheduling, i.e. the Last Planner System (LPS), which is characterized by involvement of all actors in the construction phase. Thus, the major challenge when implementing BIM-based scheduling is to improve...

  2. Research on logistics scheduling based on PSO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Huifang; Zhou, Linli; Liu, Lei

    2017-08-01

    With the rapid development of e-commerce based on the network, the logistics distribution support of e-commerce is becoming more and more obvious. The optimization of vehicle distribution routing can improve the economic benefit and realize the scientific of logistics [1]. Therefore, the study of logistics distribution vehicle routing optimization problem is not only of great theoretical significance, but also of considerable value of value. Particle swarm optimization algorithm is a kind of evolutionary algorithm, which is based on the random solution and the optimal solution by iteration, and the quality of the solution is evaluated through fitness. In order to obtain a more ideal logistics scheduling scheme, this paper proposes a logistics model based on particle swarm optimization algorithm.

  3. Network scheduling at Belene NPP construction site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matveev, A.

    2010-01-01

    Four types of schedules differing in the level of their detail are singled out to enhance the efficiency of Belene NPP Project implementation planning and monitoring: Level 1 Schedule–Summary Integrated Overall Time Schedule (SIOTS) is an appendix to EPC Contract. The main purpose of SIOTS is the large scale presentation of the current information on the Project implementation. Level 2 Schedule–Integrated Overall Time Schedule (IOTS)is the contract schedule for the Contractor (ASE JSC) and their subcontractors.The principal purpose of IOTS is the work progress planning and monitoring, the analysis of the effect of activities implementation upon the progress of the Project as a whole. IOTS is the reporting schedule at the Employer –Contractor level. Level 3 Schedules, Detail Time Schedules(DTS) are developed by those who actually perform the work and are agreed upon with Atomstroyexport JSC.The main purpose of DTS is the detail planning of Atomstroyexport subcontractor's activities. DTSare the reporting schedules at the level of Contractor-Subcontractor. Level 4 Schedules are the High Detail Time Schedules (HDTS), which are the day-to-day plans of work implementation and are developed, as a rule, for a week's time period.Each lower level time schedule details the activities of the higher level time schedule

  4. Parents' Family Time and Work Schedules: The Split-Shift Schedule in Spain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gracia, P.; Kalmijn, M.

    2016-01-01

    This study used data on couples from the 2003 Spanish Time Use Survey (N = 1,416) to analyze how work schedules are associated with family, couple, parent–child, and non-family leisure activities. Spain is clearly an interesting case for the institutionalized split-shift schedule, a long lunch break

  5. Analyzing scheduling in the food-processing industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Akkerman, Renzo; van Donk, Dirk Pieter

    2009-01-01

    Production scheduling has been widely studied in several research areas, resulting in a large number of methods, prescriptions, and approaches. However, the impact on scheduling practice seems relatively low. This is also the case in the food-processing industry, where industry......-specific characteristics induce specific and complex scheduling problems. Based on ideas about decomposition of the scheduling task and the production process, we develop an analysis methodology for scheduling problems in food processing. This combines an analysis of structural (technological) elements of the production...... process with an analysis of the tasks of the scheduler. This helps to understand, describe, and structure scheduling problems in food processing, and forms a basis for improving scheduling and applying methods developed in literature. It also helps in evaluating the organisational structures...

  6. CARMENES instrument control system and operational scheduler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Piquer, Alvaro; Guàrdia, Josep; Colomé, Josep; Ribas, Ignasi; Gesa, Lluis; Morales, Juan Carlos; Pérez-Calpena, Ana; Seifert, Walter; Quirrenbach, Andreas; Amado, Pedro J.; Caballero, José A.; Reiners, Ansgar

    2014-07-01

    visibility, sky background, required time sampling coverage) and the dynamic change of the system conditions (i.e., weather, system conditions). Off-line and on-line strategies are integrated into a single tool for a suitable transfer of the target prioritization made by the science team to the real-time schedule that will be used by the instrument operators. A suitable solution will be expected to increase the efficiency of telescope operations, which will represent an important benefit in terms of scientific return and operational costs. We present the operational scheduling tool designed for CARMENES, which is based on two algorithms combining a global and a local search: Genetic Algorithms and Hill Climbing astronomy-based heuristics, respectively. The algorithm explores a large amount of potential solutions from the vast search space and is able to identify the most efficient ones. A planning solution is considered efficient when it optimizes the objectives defined, which, in our case, are related to the reduction of the time that the telescope is not in use and the maximization of the scientific return, measured in terms of the time coverage of each target in the survey. We present the results obtained using different test cases.

  7. Future aircraft networks and schedules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Yan

    2011-07-01

    Because of the importance of air transportation scheduling, the emergence of small aircraft and the vision of future fuel-efficient aircraft, this thesis has focused on the study of aircraft scheduling and network design involving multiple types of aircraft and flight services. It develops models and solution algorithms for the schedule design problem and analyzes the computational results. First, based on the current development of small aircraft and on-demand flight services, this thesis expands a business model for integrating on-demand flight services with the traditional scheduled flight services. This thesis proposes a three-step approach to the design of aircraft schedules and networks from scratch under the model. In the first step, both a frequency assignment model for scheduled flights that incorporates a passenger path choice model and a frequency assignment model for on-demand flights that incorporates a passenger mode choice model are created. In the second step, a rough fleet assignment model that determines a set of flight legs, each of which is assigned an aircraft type and a rough departure time is constructed. In the third step, a timetable model that determines an exact departure time for each flight leg is developed. Based on the models proposed in the three steps, this thesis creates schedule design instances that involve almost all the major airports and markets in the United States. The instances of the frequency assignment model created in this thesis are large-scale non-convex mixed-integer programming problems, and this dissertation develops an overall network structure and proposes iterative algorithms for solving these instances. The instances of both the rough fleet assignment model and the timetable model created in this thesis are large-scale mixed-integer programming problems, and this dissertation develops subproblem schemes for solving these instances. Based on these solution algorithms, this dissertation also presents

  8. Conception of Self-Construction Production Scheduling System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Hai; Zhang, Xuerui; Shimizu, Yasuhiro; Fujimura, Shigeru

    With the high speed innovation of information technology, many production scheduling systems have been developed. However, a lot of customization according to individual production environment is required, and then a large investment for development and maintenance is indispensable. Therefore now the direction to construct scheduling systems should be changed. The final objective of this research aims at developing a system which is built by it extracting the scheduling technique automatically through the daily production scheduling work, so that an investment will be reduced. This extraction mechanism should be applied for various production processes for the interoperability. Using the master information extracted by the system, production scheduling operators can be supported to accelerate the production scheduling work easily and accurately without any restriction of scheduling operations. By installing this extraction mechanism, it is easy to introduce scheduling system without a lot of expense for customization. In this paper, at first a model for expressing a scheduling problem is proposed. Then the guideline to extract the scheduling information and use the extracted information is shown and some applied functions are also proposed based on it.

  9. Immunization Schedules for Infants and Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... ACIP Vaccination Recommendations Why Immunize? Vaccines: The Basics Immunization Schedule for Infants and Children (Birth through 6 ... any questions please talk to your doctor. 2018 Immunization Schedule Recommended Vaccinations for Infants and Children Schedule ...

  10. A Formal Product-Line Engineering Approach for Schedulers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Orhan, Güner; Aksit, Mehmet; Rensink, Arend; Jololian, Leon; Robbins, David E.; Fernandes, Steven L.

    2017-01-01

    Scheduling techniques have been applied to a large category of software systems, such as, processor scheduling in operating systems, car scheduling in elevator systems, facility scheduling at airports, antenna scheduling in radar systems, scheduling of events, control signals and data in

  11. Robust and Flexible Scheduling with Evolutionary Computation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Mikkel T.

    Over the last ten years, there have been numerous applications of evolutionary algorithms to a variety of scheduling problems. Like most other research on heuristic scheduling, the primary aim of the research has been on deterministic formulations of the problems. This is in contrast to real world...... scheduling problems which are usually not deterministic. Usually at the time the schedule is made some information about the problem and processing environment is available, but this information is uncertain and likely to change during schedule execution. Changes frequently encountered in scheduling...... environments include machine breakdowns, uncertain processing times, workers getting sick, materials being delayed and the appearance of new jobs. These possible environmental changes mean that a schedule which was optimal for the information available at the time of scheduling can end up being highly...

  12. Intermittent Metronomic Drug Schedule Is Essential for Activating Antitumor Innate Immunity and Tumor Xenograft Regression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chong-Sheng Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Metronomic chemotherapy using cyclophosphamide (CPA is widely associated with antiangiogenesis; however, recent studies implicate other immune-based mechanisms, including antitumor innate immunity, which can induce major tumor regression in implanted brain tumor models. This study demonstrates the critical importance of drug schedule: CPA induced a potent antitumor innate immune response and tumor regression when administered intermittently on a 6-day repeating metronomic schedule but not with the same total exposure to activated CPA administered on an every 3-day schedule or using a daily oral regimen that serves as the basis for many clinical trials of metronomic chemotherapy. Notably, the more frequent metronomic CPA schedules abrogated the antitumor innate immune and therapeutic responses. Further, the innate immune response and antitumor activity both displayed an unusually steep dose-response curve and were not accompanied by antiangiogenesis. The strong recruitment of innate immune cells by the 6-day repeating CPA schedule was not sustained, and tumor regression was abolished, by a moderate (25% reduction in CPA dose. Moreover, an ~20% increase in CPA dose eliminated the partial tumor regression and weak innate immune cell recruitment seen in a subset of the every 6-day treated tumors. Thus, metronomic drug treatment must be at a sufficiently high dose but also sufficiently well spaced in time to induce strong sustained antitumor immune cell recruitment. Many current clinical metronomic chemotherapeutic protocols employ oral daily low-dose schedules that do not meet these requirements, suggesting that they may benefit from optimization designed to maximize antitumor immune responses.

  13. Methods and benefits of experimental seismic evaluation of nuclear power plants. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-07-01

    This study reviews experimental techniques, instrumentation requirements, safety considerations, and benefits of performing vibration tests on nuclear power plant containments and internal components. The emphasis is on testing to improve seismic structural models. Techniques for identification of resonant frequencies, damping, and mode shapes, are discussed. The benefits of testing with regard to increased damping and more accurate computer models are oulined. A test plan, schedule and budget are presented for a typical PWR nuclear power plant

  14. Methods and benefits of experimental seismic evaluation of nuclear power plants. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-07-01

    This study reviews experimental techniques, instrumentation requirements, safety considerations, and benefits of performing vibration tests on nuclear power plant containments and internal components. The emphasis is on testing to improve seismic structural models. Techniques for identification of resonant frequencies, damping, and mode shapes, are discussed. The benefits of testing with regard to increased damping and more accurate computer models are oulined. A test plan, schedule and budget are presented for a typical PWR nuclear power plant.

  15. The development of KMRR schedule and progress control system (KSPCS) for the master schedule of KMRR project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Chang Woong; Lee, Tae Joon; Kim, Joon Yun; Cho, Yun Ho; Hah, Jong Hyun

    1993-07-01

    This report was to development the computerized schedule and progress control system for the master schedule of KMRR project with ARTEMIS 7000/386 CM (Ver. 7.4.2.) based on project management theory (PERT/CPM, PDM, and S-curve). This system has been efficiently used for KMRR master schedule and will be utilized for the detail scheduling of KMRR project. (Author) 23 refs., 26 figs., 52 tabs

  16. The development of KMRR schedule and progress control system (KSPCS) for the master schedule of KMRR project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Chang Woong; Lee, Tae Joon; Kim, Joon Yun; Cho, Yun Ho; Hah, Jong Hyun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1993-07-01

    This report was to development the computerized schedule and progress control system for the master schedule of KMRR project with ARTEMIS 7000/386 CM (Ver. 7.4.2.) based on project management theory (PERT/CPM, PDM, and S-curve). This system has been efficiently used for KMRR master schedule and will be utilized for the detail scheduling of KMRR project. (Author) 23 refs., 26 figs., 52 tabs.

  17. Medicare program; replacement of reasonable charge methodology by fee schedules for parenteral and enteral nutrients, equipment, and supplies. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-08-28

    This final rule implements fee schedules for payment of parenteral and enteral nutrition (PEN) items and services furnished under the prosthetic device benefit, defined in section 1861(s)(8) of the Social Security Act. The authority for establishing these fee schedules is provided by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which amended the Social Security Act at section 1842(s). Section 1842(s) of the Social Security Act specifies that statewide or other area wide fee schedules may be implemented for the following items and services still subject to the reasonable charge payment methodology: medical supplies; home dialysis supplies and equipment; therapeutic shoes; parenteral and enteral nutrients, equipment, and supplies; electromyogram devices; salivation devices; blood products; and transfusion medicine. This final rule describes changes made to the proposed fee schedule payment methodology for these items and services and provides that the fee schedules for PEN items and services are effective for all covered items and services furnished on or after January 1, 2002. Fee schedules will not be implemented for electromyogram devices and salivation devices at this time since these items are not covered by Medicare. In addition, fee schedules will not be implemented for medical supplies, home dialysis supplies and equipment, therapeutic shoes, blood products, and transfusion medicine at this time since the data required to establish these fee schedules are inadequate.

  18. 78 FR 21818 - Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Methylone Into Schedule I

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-12

    ..., methamphetamine, and MDMA, Schedule I and II substances. These effects included elevated body temperature... of reuptake of monoamines, and in vivo studies (microdialysis, locomotor activity, body temperature.... Yet another commenter claimed that Schedule I placement would ``cripple efforts at learning,'' make it...

  19. Decentralized Ground Staff Scheduling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, M. D.; Clausen, Jens

    2002-01-01

    scheduling is investigated. The airport terminal is divided into zones, where each zone consists of a set of stands geographically next to each other. Staff is assigned to work in only one zone and the staff scheduling is planned decentralized for each zone. The advantage of this approach is that the staff...... work in a smaller area of the terminal and thus spends less time walking between stands. When planning decentralized the allocation of stands to flights influences the staff scheduling since the workload in a zone depends on which flights are allocated to stands in the zone. Hence solving the problem...... depends on the actual stand allocation but also on the number of zones and the layout of these. A mathematical model of the problem is proposed, which integrates the stand allocation and the staff scheduling. A heuristic solution method is developed and applied on a real case from British Airways, London...

  20. Schedule control in Ling Ao nuclear power project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Ahai

    2007-01-01

    Ling Ao Nuclear Power Station (LANP) is first one built up by self-reliance in China with power capacity 990x2 MWe. The results of quality control, schedule control and cost control are satisfactory. The commercial operation days of Unit 1 and Unit 2 were 28th May 2002 and 8th Jan. 2003 respectively, which were 48 days and 66 days in advance of the project schedule. This paper presents the practices of self-reliance schedule control system in LANP. The paper includes 10 sections: schedule control system; targets of schedule control; schedule control at early stage of project; construction schedule; scheduling practice; Point curves; schedule control of design and procurement; a good practice of construction schedule control on site; commissioning and startup schedule; schedule control culture. Three figures are attached. The main contents of the self-reliance schedule control system are as follows: to draw up reasonable schedules and targets; to setup management mechanism and procedures; to organize powerful project management team; to establish close monitoring system; to provide timely progress reports and statistics information. Five kinds of schedule control targets are introduced, i.e. bar-chart schedule; milesones; Point curves; interface management; hydraulic test schedule of auxiliary piping loops; EMR/EMC/EESR issuance schedules. Six levels of bar-chart schedules were adopted in LANP, but the bar-chart schedules were not satisfactory for complicated erection condition on site, even using six levels of schedules. So a kind of Point curves was developed and their advantages are explained. Scheduling method of three elements: activity, duration, logic, which was adopted in LANP, is introduced. The duration of each piping activities in LANP level 2 project schedule was calculated based on the relevant working Point quantities. The analysis and adjustment of Point curves are illustrated, i.e. balance of monthly quantities; possible production in the peakload

  1. Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad; Alnuweiri, Hussein M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2012-01-01

    Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

  2. Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad

    2012-09-01

    Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

  3. NASA Instrument Cost/Schedule Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habib-Agahi, Hamid; Mrozinski, Joe; Fox, George

    2011-01-01

    NASA's Office of Independent Program and Cost Evaluation (IPCE) has established a number of initiatives to improve its cost and schedule estimating capabilities. 12One of these initiatives has resulted in the JPL developed NASA Instrument Cost Model. NICM is a cost and schedule estimator that contains: A system level cost estimation tool; a subsystem level cost estimation tool; a database of cost and technical parameters of over 140 previously flown remote sensing and in-situ instruments; a schedule estimator; a set of rules to estimate cost and schedule by life cycle phases (B/C/D); and a novel tool for developing joint probability distributions for cost and schedule risk (Joint Confidence Level (JCL)). This paper describes the development and use of NICM, including the data normalization processes, data mining methods (cluster analysis, principal components analysis, regression analysis and bootstrap cross validation), the estimating equations themselves and a demonstration of the NICM tool suite.

  4. Optimizing the Steel Plate Storage Yard Crane Scheduling Problem Using a Two Stage Planning/Scheduling Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anders Dohn; Clausen, Jens

    This paper presents the Steel Plate Storage Yard Crane Scheduling Problem. The task is to generate a schedule for two gantry cranes sharing tracks. The schedule must comply with a number of constraints and at the same time be cost efficient. We propose some ideas for a two stage planning...

  5. The triangle scheduling problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dürr, Christoph; Hanzálek, Zdeněk; Konrad, Christian; Seddik, Yasmina; Sitters, R.A.; Vásquez, Óscar C.; Woeginger, Gerhard

    2017-01-01

    This paper introduces a novel scheduling problem, where jobs occupy a triangular shape on the time line. This problem is motivated by scheduling jobs with different criticality levels. A measure is introduced, namely the binary tree ratio. It is shown that the Greedy algorithm solves the problem to

  6. A System for Automatically Generating Scheduling Heuristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Robert

    1996-01-01

    The goal of this research is to improve the performance of automated schedulers by designing and implementing an algorithm by automatically generating heuristics by selecting a schedule. The particular application selected by applying this method solves the problem of scheduling telescope observations, and is called the Associate Principal Astronomer. The input to the APA scheduler is a set of observation requests submitted by one or more astronomers. Each observation request specifies an observation program as well as scheduling constraints and preferences associated with the program. The scheduler employs greedy heuristic search to synthesize a schedule that satisfies all hard constraints of the domain and achieves a good score with respect to soft constraints expressed as an objective function established by an astronomer-user.

  7. Applying dynamic priority scheduling scheme to static systems of pinwheel task model in power-aware scheduling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seol, Ye-In; Kim, Young-Kuk

    2014-01-01

    Power-aware scheduling reduces CPU energy consumption in hard real-time systems through dynamic voltage scaling (DVS). In this paper, we deal with pinwheel task model which is known as static and predictable task model and could be applied to various embedded or ubiquitous systems. In pinwheel task model, each task's priority is static and its execution sequence could be predetermined. There have been many static approaches to power-aware scheduling in pinwheel task model. But, in this paper, we will show that the dynamic priority scheduling results in power-aware scheduling could be applied to pinwheel task model. This method is more effective than adopting the previous static priority scheduling methods in saving energy consumption and, for the system being still static, it is more tractable and applicable to small sized embedded or ubiquitous computing. Also, we introduce a novel power-aware scheduling algorithm which exploits all slacks under preemptive earliest-deadline first scheduling which is optimal in uniprocessor system. The dynamic priority method presented in this paper could be applied directly to static systems of pinwheel task model. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm with the algorithmic complexity of O(n) reduces the energy consumption by 10-80% over the existing algorithms.

  8. Final Technical Report: Commercial Advanced Lighting Control (ALC) Demonstration and Deployment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arnold, Gabe [Efficiency Forward, Inc. / DesignLights Consortium

    2018-02-05

    This three-year demonstration and deployment project sought to address market barriers to accelerating the adoption of Advanced Lighting Controls (ALCs), an underutilized technology with low market penetration. ALCs are defined as networked, addressable lighting control systems that utilize software or intelligent controllers to combine multiple energy-saving lighting control strategies in a single space (e.g., smart-time scheduling, daylight harvesting, task tuning, occupancy control, personal control, variable load-shedding, and plug-load control). The networked intelligent aspect of these systems allows applicable lighting control strategies to be combined in a single space, layered over one another, maximizing overall energy-savings. The project included five real building demonstrations of ALCs across the Northeast US region. The demonstrations provided valuable data and experience to support deployment tasks that are necessary to overcome market barriers. These deployment tasks included development of training resources for building designers, installers, and trades, as well as development of new energy efficiency rebates for the technology from Efficiency Forward’s utility partners. Educating designers, installers, and trades on ALCs is a critical task for reducing the cost of the technology that is currently inflated due to perceived complexity and unfamiliarity with how to design and install the systems. Further, utility and non-utility energy efficiency programs continue to relegate the technology to custom or ill-suited prescriptive program designs that do not effectively deploy the technology at scale. This project developed new, scalable rebate approaches for the technology. Efficiency Forward utilized their DesignLights Consortium® (DLC) brand and network of 81 DLC member utilities to develop and deploy the results of the project. The outputs of the project have included five published case studies, a six-hour ALC technology training curriculum

  9. Metroplex Optimization Model Expansion and Analysis: The Airline Fleet, Route, and Schedule Optimization Model (AFRS-OM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherry, Lance; Ferguson, John; Hoffman, Karla; Donohue, George; Beradino, Frank

    2012-01-01

    This report describes the Airline Fleet, Route, and Schedule Optimization Model (AFRS-OM) that is designed to provide insights into airline decision-making with regards to markets served, schedule of flights on these markets, the type of aircraft assigned to each scheduled flight, load factors, airfares, and airline profits. The main inputs to the model are hedged fuel prices, airport capacity limits, and candidate markets. Embedded in the model are aircraft performance and associated cost factors, and willingness-to-pay (i.e. demand vs. airfare curves). Case studies demonstrate the application of the model for analysis of the effects of increased capacity and changes in operating costs (e.g. fuel prices). Although there are differences between airports (due to differences in the magnitude of travel demand and sensitivity to airfare), the system is more sensitive to changes in fuel prices than capacity. Further, the benefits of modernization in the form of increased capacity could be undermined by increases in hedged fuel prices

  10. HURON (HUman and Robotic Optimization Network) Multi-Agent Temporal Activity Planner/Scheduler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Hook; Mrozinski, Joseph J.; Elfes, Alberto; Adumitroaie, Virgil; Shelton, Kacie E.; Smith, Jeffrey H.; Lincoln, William P.; Weisbin, Charles R.

    2012-01-01

    HURON solves the problem of how to optimize a plan and schedule for assigning multiple agents to a temporal sequence of actions (e.g., science tasks). Developed as a generic planning and scheduling tool, HURON has been used to optimize space mission surface operations. The tool has also been used to analyze lunar architectures for a variety of surface operational scenarios in order to maximize return on investment and productivity. These scenarios include numerous science activities performed by a diverse set of agents: humans, teleoperated rovers, and autonomous rovers. Once given a set of agents, activities, resources, resource constraints, temporal constraints, and de pendencies, HURON computes an optimal schedule that meets a specified goal (e.g., maximum productivity or minimum time), subject to the constraints. HURON performs planning and scheduling optimization as a graph search in state-space with forward progression. Each node in the graph contains a state instance. Starting with the initial node, a graph is automatically constructed with new successive nodes of each new state to explore. The optimization uses a set of pre-conditions and post-conditions to create the children states. The Python language was adopted to not only enable more agile development, but to also allow the domain experts to easily define their optimization models. A graphical user interface was also developed to facilitate real-time search information feedback and interaction by the operator in the search optimization process. The HURON package has many potential uses in the fields of Operations Research and Management Science where this technology applies to many commercial domains requiring optimization to reduce costs. For example, optimizing a fleet of transportation truck routes, aircraft flight scheduling, and other route-planning scenarios involving multiple agent task optimization would all benefit by using HURON.

  11. Computation and evaluation of scheduled waiting time for railway networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Landex, Alex

    2010-01-01

    Timetables are affected by scheduled waiting time (SWT) that prolongs the travel times for trains and thereby passengers. SWT occurs when a train hinders another train to run with the wanted speed. The SWT affects both the trains and the passengers in the trains. The passengers may be further...... affected due to longer transfer times to other trains. SWT can be estimated analytically for a given timetable or by simulation of timetables and/or plans of operation. The simulation of SWT has the benefit that it is possible to examine the entire network. This makes it possible to improve the future...

  12. Artificial intelligence approaches to astronomical observation scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Mark D.; Miller, Glenn

    1988-01-01

    Automated scheduling will play an increasing role in future ground- and space-based observatory operations. Due to the complexity of the problem, artificial intelligence technology currently offers the greatest potential for the development of scheduling tools with sufficient power and flexibility to handle realistic scheduling situations. Summarized here are the main features of the observatory scheduling problem, how artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be applied, and recent progress in AI scheduling for Hubble Space Telescope.

  13. Planning and scheduling - A schedule's performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whitman, N.M.

    1993-01-01

    Planning and scheduling is a process whose time has come to PSI Energy. With an awareness of the challenges ahead, individuals must look for ways to enhance the corporate competitiveness. Working toward this goal means that each individual has to dedicate themselves to this more competitive corporate environment. Being competitive may be defined as the ability of each employee to add value to the corporation's economic well being. The timely and successful implementation of projects greatly enhances competitiveness. Those projects that do not do well often suffer from lack of proper execution - not for lack of talent or strategic vision. Projects are consumers of resources such as cash and people. They produce a return when completed and will generate a better return when properly completed utilizing proven project management techniques. Completing projects on time, within budget and meeting customer expectations is the way a corporation builds it's future. This paper offers suggestions on implementing planning and scheduling and provides a review of results in the form of management reports

  14. The Planning and Scheduling of HST: Improvements and Enhancements since Launch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, D. K.; Chance, D. R.; Jordan, I. J. E.; Patterson, A. P.; Stanley, M.; Taylor, D. C.

    2001-12-01

    The planning and scheduling (P&S) systems used in operating the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have undergone such substantial and pervasive re-engineering that today they dimly resemble those used when HST was launched. Processes (i.e., software, procedures, networking, etc.) which allow program implementation, the generation of a Long Range Plan (LRP), and the scheduling of science and mission activities have improved drastically in nearly 12 years, resulting in a consistently high observing efficiency, a stable LRP that principal investigators can use, exceptionally clean command loads uplinked to the spacecraft, and the capability of a very fast response time due to onboard anomalies or targets of opportunity. In this presentation we describe many of the systems which comprise the P&S ("front-end") system for HST, how and why they were improved, and what benefits have been realized by either the HST user community or the STScI staff. The systems include the Guide Star System, the Remote Proposal Submission System - 2 (RPS2), Artificial Intelligence (AI) planning tools such as Spike, and the science and mission scheduling software. We also describe how using modern software languages such as Python and better development practices allow STScI staff to do more with HST (e.g., to handle much more science data when ACS is installed) without increasing the cost to HST operations.

  15. Alternative Work Schedules: Definitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Journal of the College and University Personnel Association, 1977

    1977-01-01

    The term "alternative work schedules" encompasses any variation of the requirement that all permanent employees in an organization or one shift of employees adhere to the same five-day, seven-to-eight-hour schedule. This article defines staggered hours, flexible working hours (flexitour and gliding time), compressed work week, the task system, and…

  16. Planning and Scheduling of Airline Operations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    İlkay ORHAN

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The Turkish Civil Aviation sector has grown at a rate of 53 % between the years 2002-2008 owing to countrywide economical developments and some removed restrictions in the aviation field. Successful international companies in the sector use advanced computer-supported solution methods for their planning and scheduling problems. These methods have been providing significant competitive advantages to those companies. There are four major scheduling and planning problems in the airline sector: flight scheduling, aircraft scheduling, crew scheduling and disruptions management. These aforementioned scheduling and planning problems faced by all airline companies in the airline sector were examined in detail. Studies reveal that companies using the advanced methods might gain significant cost reductions. However, even then, the time required for solving large scale problems may not satisfy the decision quality desired by decision makers. In such cases, using modern decision methods integrated with advanced technologies offer companies an opportunity for significant cost-advantages.

  17. Development of Watch Schedule Using Rules Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurkevicius, Darius; Vasilecas, Olegas

    The software for schedule creation and optimization solves a difficult, important and practical problem. The proposed solution is an online employee portal where administrator users can create and manage watch schedules and employee requests. Each employee can login with his/her own account and see his/her assignments, manage requests, etc. Employees set as administrators can perform the employee scheduling online, manage requests, etc. This scheduling software allows users not only to see the initial and optimized watch schedule in a simple and understandable form, but also to create special rules and criteria and input their business. The system using rules automatically will generate watch schedule.

  18. Therapeutic benefits of cannabis: a patient survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Charles W; Webb, Sandra M

    2014-04-01

    Clinical research regarding the therapeutic benefits of cannabis ("marijuana") has been almost non-existent in the United States since cannabis was given Schedule I status in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. In order to discover the benefits and adverse effects perceived by medical cannabis patients, especially with regards to chronic pain, we hand-delivered surveys to one hundred consecutive patients who were returning for yearly re-certification for medical cannabis use in Hawai'i. The response rate was 94%. Mean and median ages were 49.3 and 51 years respectively. Ninety-seven per cent of respondents used cannabis primarily for chronic pain. Average pain improvement on a 0-10 pain scale was 5.0 (from 7.8 to 2.8), which translates to a 64% relative decrease in average pain. Half of all respondents also noted relief from stress/anxiety, and nearly half (45%) reported relief from insomnia. Most patients (71%) reported no adverse effects, while 6% reported a cough or throat irritation and 5% feared arrest even though medical cannabis is legal in Hawai'i. No serious adverse effects were reported. These results suggest that Cannabis is an extremely safe and effective medication for many chronic pain patients. Cannabis appears to alleviate pain, insomnia, and may be helpful in relieving anxiety. Cannabis has shown extreme promise in the treatment of numerous medical problems and deserves to be released from the current Schedule I federal prohibition against research and prescription.

  19. NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-05-01

    Effective January 1, 1982, NRC will institute records retention and disposal practives in accordance with the approved Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule (CRDS). CRDS is comprised of NRC Schedules (NRCS) 1 to 4 which apply to the agency's program or substantive records and General Records Schedules (GRS) 1 to 24 which apply to housekeeping or facilitative records. NRCS-I applies to records common to all or most NRC offices; NRCS-II applies to program records as found in the various offices of the Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Panel; NRCS-III applies to records accumulated by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; and NRCS-IV applies to records accumulated in the various NRC offices under the Executive Director for Operations. The schedules are assembled functionally/organizationally to facilitate their use. Preceding the records descriptions and disposition instructions for both NRCS and GRS, there are brief statements on the organizational units which accumulate the records in each functional area, and other information regarding the schedules' applicability

  20. 75 FR 70326 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-17

    ... quotes/orders. While Members that generally remove liquidity from the Exchange will be paying a higher fee, the Exchange believes that such Members will benefit to the extent the higher rebate paid by the... charged by other venues. Finally, the Exchange believes that the proposed rates are equitable in that they...

  1. CMS multicore scheduling strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yzquierdo, Antonio Pérez-Calero; Hernández, Jose; Holzman, Burt; Majewski, Krista; McCrea, Alison

    2014-01-01

    In the next years, processor architectures based on much larger numbers of cores will be most likely the model to continue 'Moore's Law' style throughput gains. This not only results in many more jobs in parallel running the LHC Run 1 era monolithic applications, but also the memory requirements of these processes push the workernode architectures to the limit. One solution is parallelizing the application itself, through forking and memory sharing or through threaded frameworks. CMS is following all of these approaches and has a comprehensive strategy to schedule multicore jobs on the GRID based on the glideinWMS submission infrastructure. The main component of the scheduling strategy, a pilot-based model with dynamic partitioning of resources that allows the transition to multicore or whole-node scheduling without disallowing the use of single-core jobs, is described. This contribution also presents the experiences made with the proposed multicore scheduling schema and gives an outlook of further developments working towards the restart of the LHC in 2015.

  2. Data analysis with the DIANA meta-scheduling approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anjum, A; McClatchey, R; Willers, I

    2008-01-01

    The concepts, design and evaluation of the Data Intensive and Network Aware (DIANA) meta-scheduling approach for solving the challenges of data analysis being faced by CERN experiments are discussed in this paper. Our results suggest that data analysis can be made robust by employing fault tolerant and decentralized meta-scheduling algorithms supported in our DIANA meta-scheduler. The DIANA meta-scheduler supports data intensive bulk scheduling, is network aware and follows a policy centric meta-scheduling. In this paper, we demonstrate that a decentralized and dynamic meta-scheduling approach is an effective strategy to cope with increasing numbers of users, jobs and datasets. We present 'quality of service' related statistics for physics analysis through the application of a policy centric fair-share scheduling model. The DIANA meta-schedulers create a peer-to-peer hierarchy of schedulers to accomplish resource management that changes with evolving loads and is dynamic and adapts to the volatile nature of the resources

  3. Scheduling lessons learned from the Autonomous Power System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringer, Mark J.

    1992-01-01

    The Autonomous Power System (APS) project at NASA LeRC is designed to demonstrate the applications of integrated intelligent diagnosis, control, and scheduling techniques to space power distribution systems. The project consists of three elements: the Autonomous Power Expert System (APEX) for Fault Diagnosis, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR); the Autonomous Intelligent Power Scheduler (AIPS) to efficiently assign activities start times and resources; and power hardware (Brassboard) to emulate a space-based power system. The AIPS scheduler was tested within the APS system. This scheduler is able to efficiently assign available power to the requesting activities and share this information with other software agents within the APS system in order to implement the generated schedule. The AIPS scheduler is also able to cooperatively recover from fault situations by rescheduling the affected loads on the Brassboard in conjunction with the APEX FDIR system. AIPS served as a learning tool and an initial scheduling testbed for the integration of FDIR and automated scheduling systems. Many lessons were learned from the AIPS scheduler and are now being integrated into a new scheduler called SCRAP (Scheduler for Continuous Resource Allocation and Planning). This paper will service three purposes: an overview of the AIPS implementation, lessons learned from the AIPS scheduler, and a brief section on how these lessons are being applied to the new SCRAP scheduler.

  4. Decommissioning strategy and schedule for a multiple reactor nuclear power plant site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Monteiro, Deiglys Borges; Moreira, Joao M.L.; Maiorino, Jose Rubens, E-mail: deiglys.monteiro@ufabc.edu.br, E-mail: joao.moreira@ufabc.edu.br, E-mail: joserubens.maiorino@ufabc.edu.br [Universidade Federal do ABC (CECS/UFABC), Santo Andre, SP (Brazil). Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciencias Aplicadas

    2015-07-01

    The decommissioning is an important part of every Nuclear Power Plant life cycle gaining importance when there are more than one plant at the same site due to interactions that can arise from the operational ones and a decommissioning plant. In order to prevent undesirable problems, a suitable strategy and a very rigorous schedule should implemented and carried. In this way, decommissioning tasks such as fully decontamination and dismantling of activated and contaminated systems, rooms and structures could be delayed, posing as an interesting option to multiple reactor sites. The present work aims to purpose a strategy and a schedule for the decommissioning of a multiple reactor site highlighting the benefits of delay operational tasks and constructs some auxiliary services in the site during the stand by period of the shutdown plants. As a case study, will be presented a three-reactor site which the decommissioning process actually is in planning stage and that should start in the next decade. (author)

  5. Decommissioning strategy and schedule for a multiple reactor nuclear power plant site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monteiro, Deiglys Borges; Moreira, Joao M.L.; Maiorino, Jose Rubens

    2015-01-01

    The decommissioning is an important part of every Nuclear Power Plant life cycle gaining importance when there are more than one plant at the same site due to interactions that can arise from the operational ones and a decommissioning plant. In order to prevent undesirable problems, a suitable strategy and a very rigorous schedule should implemented and carried. In this way, decommissioning tasks such as fully decontamination and dismantling of activated and contaminated systems, rooms and structures could be delayed, posing as an interesting option to multiple reactor sites. The present work aims to purpose a strategy and a schedule for the decommissioning of a multiple reactor site highlighting the benefits of delay operational tasks and constructs some auxiliary services in the site during the stand by period of the shutdown plants. As a case study, will be presented a three-reactor site which the decommissioning process actually is in planning stage and that should start in the next decade. (author)

  6. Optimization of Hierarchically Scheduled Heterogeneous Embedded Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pop, Traian; Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru

    2005-01-01

    We present an approach to the analysis and optimization of heterogeneous distributed embedded systems. The systems are heterogeneous not only in terms of hardware components, but also in terms of communication protocols and scheduling policies. When several scheduling policies share a resource......, they are organized in a hierarchy. In this paper, we address design problems that are characteristic to such hierarchically scheduled systems: assignment of scheduling policies to tasks, mapping of tasks to hardware components, and the scheduling of the activities. We present algorithms for solving these problems....... Our heuristics are able to find schedulable implementations under limited resources, achieving an efficient utilization of the system. The developed algorithms are evaluated using extensive experiments and a real-life example....

  7. Sport Tournament Automated Scheduling System

    OpenAIRE

    Raof R. A. A; Sudin S.; Mahrom N.; Rosli A. N. C

    2018-01-01

    The organizer of sport events often facing problems such as wrong calculations of marks and scores, as well as difficult to create a good and reliable schedule. Most of the time, the issues about the level of integrity of committee members and also issues about errors made by human came into the picture. Therefore, the development of sport tournament automated scheduling system is proposed. The system will be able to automatically generate the tournament schedule as well as automatically calc...

  8. 40 CFR 141.702 - Sampling schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... serving at least 10,000 people must submit their sampling schedule for the initial round of source water... submitting the sampling schedule that EPA approves. (3) Systems serving fewer than 10,000 people must submit... analytical result for a scheduled sampling date due to equipment failure, loss of or damage to the sample...

  9. Prevalence of α(+)-Thalassemia in the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Populations of Damoh District in Madhya Pradesh, Central India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Mendi P S S; Gupta, Rasik B; Yadav, Rajiv; Sharma, Ravendra K; Shanmugam, Rajasubramaniam

    2016-08-01

    This study was carried out to ascertain the allelic frequency of α(+)-thalassemia (α(+)-thal) in Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations of the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Random blood samples of Scheduled tribe (267) and Scheduled caste (168), considering the family as a sampling unit, were analyzed for the presence of the -α(3.7) (rightward) (NG_000006.1: g.34164_37967del3804) and -α(4.2) (leftward) (AF221717) deletions. α(+)-Thal was significantly higher in the Scheduled tribals (77.9%) as compared to the scheduled caste population (9.0%). About 58.0% scheduled tribals carried at least one chromosome with the -α(3.7) deletion and 20.0% scheduled tribals carried the -α(4.2) deletion. Frequency for the -α(3.7) allele was 0.487 in the scheduled tribal populations in comparison to 0.021 in scheduled castes. Allelic frequency for -α(4.2) was 0.103 and 0.024, respectively, in the above communities. No Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for α-thal gene (p population, indicating the presence of selection pressures in favor of α-thal mutation and adaptation.

  10. Routine environmental monitoring schedule, calendar year 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmidt, J.W.; Markes, B.M.; McKinney, S.M.

    1994-12-01

    This document provides Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (BHI) and Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) a schedule of monitoring and sampling routines for the Operational Environmental Monitoring (OEM) program during calendar year (CY) 1995. Every attempt will be made to consistently follow this schedule; any deviation from this schedule will be documented by an internal memorandum (DSI) explaining the reason for the deviation. The DSI will be issued by the scheduled performing organization and directed to Near-Field Monitoring. The survey frequencies for particular sites are determined by the technical judgment of Near-Field Monitoring and may depend on the site history, radiological status, use and general conditions. Additional surveys may be requested at irregular frequencies if conditions warrant. All radioactive wastes sites are scheduled to be surveyed at least annually. Any newly discovered wastes sites not documented by this schedule will be included in the revised schedule for CY 1995

  11. Interactive Dynamic Mission Scheduling for ASCA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antunes, A.; Nagase, F.; Isobe, T.

    The Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics) mission requires scheduling for each 6-month observation phase, further broken down into weekly schedules at a few minutes resolution. Two tools, SPIKE and NEEDLE, written in Lisp and C, use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques combined with a graphic user interface for fast creation and alteration of mission schedules. These programs consider viewing and satellite attitude constraints as well as observer-requested criteria and present an optimized set of solutions for review by the planner. Six-month schedules at 1 day resolution are created for an oversubscribed set of targets by the SPIKE software, originally written for HST and presently being adapted for EUVE, XTE and AXAF. The NEEDLE code creates weekly schedules at 1 min resolution using in-house orbital routines and creates output for processing by the command generation software. Schedule creation on both the long- and short-term scale is rapid, less than 1 day for long-term, and one hour for short-term.

  12. Estrutura de prática e validade ecológica no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora Practice schedule and ecological validity in the adaptive process of motor learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcela Massigli

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo desse estudo foi investigar o efeito da estrutura de prática no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora em função da validade ecológica da situação experimental. Participaram do estudo 104 crianças distribuídas em oito grupos experimentais (dois níveis de validade ecológica x quatro estruturas de prática. A tarefa consistiu em rebater uma bola de tênis de mesa lançada por um equipamento ou pelo experimentador, com o objetivo de acertar um alvo localizado no lado oposto da mesa. O estudo envolveu duas fases: estabilização e adaptação. O desempenho foi analisado por meio da soma dos pontos obtidos em blocos de 10 tentativas. Os resultados mostraram que os efeitos das práticas constante, aleatória, constante-aleatória e aleatória-constante no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora foram similares em ambos os níveis de validade ecológica; a prática constante foi a estrutura menos efetiva no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora em ambas as situações experimentais.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different practice schedules in the adaptive process of motor learning in function of the ecological validity of the experimental situation. Participants were 104 children distributed in eight experimental groups (2 levels of ecological validity x 4 practice schedules. The task was to hit a table tennis ball thrown by equipment or experimenter, aiming to hit a target located on the opposite side of the table. The study was carried out in two phases: stabilization and adaptation. Performance was analyzed through the sum of the points achieved in ten trial blocks. Results showed that the effects of constant, random, constant-random and random-constant practice on the adaptive process of motor learning were similar in both levels of ecological validity; constant practice was the less effective schedule on the adaptive process of motor learning in both experimental situations.

  13. Automated scheduling and planning from theory to practice

    CERN Document Server

    Ozcan, Ender; Urquhart, Neil

    2013-01-01

      Solving scheduling problems has long presented a challenge for computer scientists and operations researchers. The field continues to expand as researchers and practitioners examine ever more challenging problems and develop automated methods capable of solving them. This book provides 11 case studies in automated scheduling, submitted by leading researchers from across the world. Each case study examines a challenging real-world problem by analysing the problem in detail before investigating how the problem may be solved using state of the art techniques.The areas covered include aircraft scheduling, microprocessor instruction scheduling, sports fixture scheduling, exam scheduling, personnel scheduling and production scheduling.  Problem solving methodologies covered include exact as well as (meta)heuristic approaches, such as local search techniques, linear programming, genetic algorithms and ant colony optimisation.The field of automated scheduling has the potential to impact many aspects of our lives...

  14. Development of a hybrid genetic algorithm based decision support system for vehicle routing and scheduling in supply chain logistics managment

    OpenAIRE

    Khanian, Seyed Mohammad Shafi

    2007-01-01

    Vehicle Routing and Scheduling (VRS) constitute an important part of logistics management. Given the fact that the worldwide cost on physical distribution is evermore increasing, the global competition and the complex nature of logistics problems, one area, which determines the efficiency of all others, is the VRS activities. The application of Decision Support Systems (DSS) to assist logistics management with an efficient VRS could be of great benefit. Although the benefits of DSS in VRS are...

  15. 77 FR 15400 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-15

    ...(b)(4). Customer Rebates Customer Complex Orders are becoming an increasingly important segment of... Customer Rebate for Adding Liquidity, (2) create a new Rebate for Removing Liquidity, (3) amend the Fee for... Exchange. Currently, the Exchange's Complex Order fees and rebates are as follows: Directed Customer...

  16. Short-term generation scheduling model of Fujian hydro system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Jinwen [School of Hydropower and Information Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China)], E-mail: dr.jinwen.wang@gmail.com

    2009-04-15

    The Fujian hydropower system (FHS) is one of the provincial hydropower systems with the most complicated hydraulic topology in China. This paper describes an optimization program that is required by Fujian Electric Power Company Ltd. (FEPCL) to aid the shift engineers in making decisions with the short-term hydropower scheduling such that the generation benefit can be maximal. The problem involves 27 reservoirs and is formulated as a nonlinear and discrete programming. It is a very challenging task to solve such a large-scale problem. In this paper, the Lagrangian multipliers are introduced to decompose the primal problem into a hydro subproblem and many individual plant-based subproblems, which are respectively solved by the improved simplex-like method (SLM) and the dynamic programming (DP). A numerical example is given and the derived solution is very close to the optimal one, with the distance in benefit less than 0.004%. All the data needed for the numerical example are presented in detail for further tests and studies from more experts and researchers.

  17. Short-term generation scheduling model of Fujian hydro system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Jinwen [School of Hydropower and Information Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China)

    2009-04-15

    The Fujian hydropower system (FHS) is one of the provincial hydropower systems with the most complicated hydraulic topology in China. This paper describes an optimization program that is required by Fujian Electric Power Company Ltd. (FEPCL) to aid the shift engineers in making decisions with the short-term hydropower scheduling such that the generation benefit can be maximal. The problem involves 27 reservoirs and is formulated as a nonlinear and discrete programming. It is a very challenging task to solve such a large-scale problem. In this paper, the Lagrangian multipliers are introduced to decompose the primal problem into a hydro subproblem and many individual plant-based subproblems, which are respectively solved by the improved simplex-like method (SLM) and the dynamic programming (DP). A numerical example is given and the derived solution is very close to the optimal one, with the distance in benefit less than 0.004%. All the data needed for the numerical example are presented in detail for further tests and studies from more experts and researchers. (author)

  18. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF LOCATION-BASED SCHEDULING

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersson, Niclas; Christensen, Knud

    2007-01-01

    The traditional method for planning, scheduling and controlling activities and resources in construction projects is the CPM-scheduling, which has been the predominant scheduling method since its introduction in the late 1950s. Over the years, CPM has proven to be a very powerful technique...... that will be used in this study. LBS is a scheduling method that rests upon the theories of line-of-balance and which uses the graphic representation of a flowline chart. As such, LBS is adapted for planning and management of workflows and, thus, may provide a solution to the identified shortcomings of CPM. Even...

  19. Environmental surveillance master sampling schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bisping, L.E.

    1991-01-01

    Environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy (DOE). This document contains the planned schedule for routine sample collection for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP) and Ground-Water Monitoring Project. The routine sampling plan for the SESP has been revised this year to reflect changing site operations and priorities. Some sampling previously performed at least annually has been reduced in frequency, and some new sampling to be performed at a less than annual frequency has been added. Therefore, the SESP schedule reflects sampling to be conducted in calendar year 1991 as well as future years. The ground-water sampling schedule is for 1991. This schedule is subject to modification during the year in response to changes in Site operation, program requirements, and the nature of the observed results. Operational limitations such as weather, mechanical failures, sample availability, etc., may also require schedule modifications. Changes will be documented in the respective project files, but this plan will not be reissued. The purpose of these monitoring projects is to evaluate levels of radioactive and nonradioactive pollutants in the Hanford evirons

  20. Environmental surveillance master sampling schedule

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bisping, L.E.

    1991-01-01

    Environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy (DOE). This document contains the planned schedule for routine sample collection for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP) and Ground-Water Monitoring Project. The routine sampling plan for the SESP has been revised this year to reflect changing site operations and priorities. Some sampling previously performed at least annually has been reduced in frequency, and some new sampling to be performed at a less than annual frequency has been added. Therefore, the SESP schedule reflects sampling to be conducted in calendar year 1991 as well as future years. The ground-water sampling schedule is for 1991. This schedule is subject to modification during the year in response to changes in Site operation, program requirements, and the nature of the observed results. Operational limitations such as weather, mechanical failures, sample availability, etc., may also require schedule modifications. Changes will be documented in the respective project files, but this plan will not be reissued. The purpose of these monitoring projects is to evaluate levels of radioactive and nonradioactive pollutants in the Hanford evirons.

  1. Schedule and staffing of a nuclear power project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polliart, A.J.; Csik, B.

    1977-01-01

    Establishment of construction schedule: a) preliminary construction schedule; b) PERT (Program Evaluation Review Techniques) analytical method; c) identify key milestone target dates; d) inter-action by participants and contribution to support revised construction schedule. - Construction schedule control: a) ability to update and modify construction schedule; b) alternate plans to circumvent restraints (problems); c) critical path activity-controls; d) continuous review and report system. - Updating construction site reports to include: 1) progress, 2) accomplishments, 3) potential problems and alternate plans; b) progress reports on related support services; c) total assessment of participating groups on schedule; d) information required by management for decisions. - Typical causes for delays in project schedule. (orig.) [de

  2. An interpolated activity during the knowledge-of-results delay interval eliminates the learning advantages of self-controlled feedback schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Michael J; Ste-Marie, Diane M

    2017-03-01

    The learning advantages of self-controlled knowledge-of-results (KR) schedules compared to yoked schedules have been linked to the optimization of the informational value of the KR received for the enhancement of one's error-detection capabilities. This suggests that information-processing activities that occur after motor execution, but prior to receiving KR (i.e., the KR-delay interval) may underlie self-controlled KR learning advantages. The present experiment investigated whether self-controlled KR learning benefits would be eliminated if an interpolated activity was performed during the KR-delay interval. Participants practiced a waveform matching task that required two rapid elbow extension-flexion reversals in one of four groups using a factorial combination of choice (self-controlled, yoked) and KR-delay interval (empty, interpolated). The waveform had specific spatial and temporal constraints, and an overall movement time goal. The results indicated that the self-controlled + empty group had superior retention and transfer scores compared to all other groups. Moreover, the self-controlled + interpolated and yoked + interpolated groups did not differ significantly in retention and transfer; thus, the interpolated activity eliminated the typically found learning benefits of self-controlled KR. No significant differences were found between the two yoked groups. We suggest the interpolated activity interfered with information-processing activities specific to self-controlled KR conditions that occur during the KR-delay interval and that these activities are vital for reaping the associated learning benefits. These findings add to the growing evidence that challenge the motivational account of self-controlled KR learning advantages and instead highlights informational factors associated with the KR-delay interval as an important variable for motor learning under self-controlled KR schedules.

  3. 77 FR 40688 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-10

    ... attracting Customer orders to BX benefits all market participants and it is an important Exchange function to... rebates and fees for Customers, BX Options Market Makers \\4\\ and Non-Customers \\5\\ in various options \\6... 4. \\5\\ A Non-Customer includes a Professional, Firm, Broker-Dealer and Non-BX Options Market Maker...

  4. Online Scheduling in Manufacturing A Cumulative Delay Approach

    CERN Document Server

    Suwa, Haruhiko

    2013-01-01

    Online scheduling is recognized as the crucial decision-making process of production control at a phase of “being in production" according to the released shop floor schedule. Online scheduling can be also considered as one of key enablers to realize prompt capable-to-promise as well as available-to-promise to customers along with reducing production lead times under recent globalized competitive markets. Online Scheduling in Manufacturing introduces new approaches to online scheduling based on a concept of cumulative delay. The cumulative delay is regarded as consolidated information of uncertainties under a dynamic environment in manufacturing and can be collected constantly without much effort at any points in time during a schedule execution. In this approach, the cumulative delay of the schedule has the important role of a criterion for making a decision whether or not a schedule revision is carried out. The cumulative delay approach to trigger schedule revisions has the following capabilities for the ...

  5. Limited Preemptive Scheduling in Real-time Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Thekkilakattil, Abhilash

    2016-01-01

    Preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling paradigms typically introduce undesirable side effects when scheduling real-time tasks, mainly in the form of preemption overheads and blocking, that potentially compromise timeliness guarantees. The high preemption overheads in preemptive real-time scheduling may imply high resource utilization, often requiring significant over-provisioning, e.g., pessimistic Worst Case Execution Time (WCET) approximations. Non-preemptive scheduling, on the other hand...

  6. Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant Project: construction schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purcell, W.J.; Martin, E.M.; Shivley, J.M.

    1982-01-01

    The construction schedule for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant and its evolution are described. The initial schedule basis, changes necessitated by the evaluation of the overall plant design, and constructability improvements that have been effected to assure adherence to the schedule are presented. The schedule structure and hierarchy are discussed, as are tools used to define, develop, and evaluate the schedule

  7. Utilization Bound of Non-preemptive Fixed Priority Schedulers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Moonju; Chae, Jinseok

    It is known that the schedulability of a non-preemptive task set with fixed priority can be determined in pseudo-polynomial time. However, since Rate Monotonic scheduling is not optimal for non-preemptive scheduling, the applicability of existing polynomial time tests that provide sufficient schedulability conditions, such as Liu and Layland's bound, is limited. This letter proposes a new sufficient condition for non-preemptive fixed priority scheduling that can be used for any fixed priority assignment scheme. It is also shown that the proposed schedulability test has a tighter utilization bound than existing test methods.

  8. Integrated Job Scheduling and Network Routing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gamst, Mette; Pisinger, David

    2013-01-01

    We consider an integrated job scheduling and network routing problem which appears in Grid Computing and production planning. The problem is to schedule a number of jobs at a finite set of machines, such that the overall profit of the executed jobs is maximized. Each job demands a number of resou...... indicate that the algorithm can be used as an actual scheduling algorithm in the Grid or as a tool for analyzing Grid performance when adding extra machines or jobs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.......We consider an integrated job scheduling and network routing problem which appears in Grid Computing and production planning. The problem is to schedule a number of jobs at a finite set of machines, such that the overall profit of the executed jobs is maximized. Each job demands a number...... of resources which must be sent to the executing machine through a network with limited capacity. A job cannot start before all of its resources have arrived at the machine. The scheduling problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Program (MIP) and proved to be NP-hard. An exact solution approach using Dantzig...

  9. Integrated Cost and Schedule using Monte Carlo Simulation of a CPM Model - 12419

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hulett, David T. [Hulett and Associates, LLC (United States); Nosbisch, Michael R. [Project Time and Cost, Inc. (United States)

    2012-07-01

    This discussion of the recommended practice (RP) 57R-09 of AACE International defines the integrated analysis of schedule and cost risk to estimate the appropriate level of cost and schedule contingency reserve on projects. The main contribution of this RP is to include the impact of schedule risk on cost risk and hence on the need for cost contingency reserves. Additional benefits include the prioritizing of the risks to cost, some of which are risks to schedule, so that risk mitigation may be conducted in a cost-effective way, scatter diagrams of time-cost pairs for developing joint targets of time and cost, and probabilistic cash flow which shows cash flow at different levels of certainty. Integrating cost and schedule risk into one analysis based on the project schedule loaded with costed resources from the cost estimate provides both: (1) more accurate cost estimates than if the schedule risk were ignored or incorporated only partially, and (2) illustrates the importance of schedule risk to cost risk when the durations of activities using labor-type (time-dependent) resources are risky. Many activities such as detailed engineering, construction or software development are mainly conducted by people who need to be paid even if their work takes longer than scheduled. Level-of-effort resources, such as the project management team, are extreme examples of time-dependent resources, since if the project duration exceeds its planned duration the cost of these resources will increase over their budgeted amount. The integrated cost-schedule risk analysis is based on: - A high quality CPM schedule with logic tight enough so that it will provide the correct dates and critical paths during simulation automatically without manual intervention. - A contingency-free estimate of project costs that is loaded on the activities of the schedule. - Resolves inconsistencies between cost estimate and schedule that often creep into those documents as project execution proceeds

  10. Estimating exponential scheduling preferences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjorth, Katrine; Börjesson, Maria; Engelson, Leonid

    2015-01-01

    of car drivers' route and mode choice under uncertain travel times. Our analysis exposes some important methodological issues related to complex non-linear scheduling models: One issue is identifying the point in time where the marginal utility of being at the destination becomes larger than the marginal......Different assumptions about travelers' scheduling preferences yield different measures of the cost of travel time variability. Only few forms of scheduling preferences provide non-trivial measures which are additive over links in transport networks where link travel times are arbitrarily...... utility of being at the origin. Another issue is that models with the exponential marginal utility formulation suffer from empirical identification problems. Though our results are not decisive, they partly support the constant-affine specification, in which the value of travel time variability...

  11. Group Elevator Peak Scheduling Based on Robust Optimization Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ZHANG, J.

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Scheduling of Elevator Group Control System (EGCS is a typical combinatorial optimization problem. Uncertain group scheduling under peak traffic flows has become a research focus and difficulty recently. RO (Robust Optimization method is a novel and effective way to deal with uncertain scheduling problem. In this paper, a peak scheduling method based on RO model for multi-elevator system is proposed. The method is immune to the uncertainty of peak traffic flows, optimal scheduling is realized without getting exact numbers of each calling floor's waiting passengers. Specifically, energy-saving oriented multi-objective scheduling price is proposed, RO uncertain peak scheduling model is built to minimize the price. Because RO uncertain model could not be solved directly, RO uncertain model is transformed to RO certain model by elevator scheduling robust counterparts. Because solution space of elevator scheduling is enormous, to solve RO certain model in short time, ant colony solving algorithm for elevator scheduling is proposed. Based on the algorithm, optimal scheduling solutions are found quickly, and group elevators are scheduled according to the solutions. Simulation results show the method could improve scheduling performances effectively in peak pattern. Group elevators' efficient operation is realized by the RO scheduling method.

  12. NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule. Revision 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-02-01

    Title 44 US Code, ''Public Printing and Documents,'' regulations issued by the General Service Administration (GSA) in 41 CFR Chapter 101, Subchapter B, ''Management and Use of Information and Records,'' and regulations issued by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 36 CFR Chapter 12, Subchapter B, ''Records Management,'' require each agency to prepare and issue a comprehensive records disposition schedule that contains the NARA approved records disposition schedules for records unique to the agency and contains the NARA's General Records Schedules for records common to several or all agencies. The approved records disposition schedules specify the appropriate duration of retention and the final disposition for records created or maintained by the NRC. NUREG-0910, Rev. 3, contains ''NRC's Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule,'' and the original authorized approved citation numbers issued by NARA. Rev. 3 incorporates NARA approved changes and additions to the NRC schedules that have been implemented since the last revision dated March, 1992, reflects recent organizational changes implemented at the NRC, and includes the latest version of NARA's General Records Schedule (dated August 1995)

  13. NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule. Revision 3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-02-01

    Title 44 US Code, ``Public Printing and Documents,`` regulations issued by the General Service Administration (GSA) in 41 CFR Chapter 101, Subchapter B, ``Management and Use of Information and Records,`` and regulations issued by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 36 CFR Chapter 12, Subchapter B, ``Records Management,`` require each agency to prepare and issue a comprehensive records disposition schedule that contains the NARA approved records disposition schedules for records unique to the agency and contains the NARA`s General Records Schedules for records common to several or all agencies. The approved records disposition schedules specify the appropriate duration of retention and the final disposition for records created or maintained by the NRC. NUREG-0910, Rev. 3, contains ``NRC`s Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule,`` and the original authorized approved citation numbers issued by NARA. Rev. 3 incorporates NARA approved changes and additions to the NRC schedules that have been implemented since the last revision dated March, 1992, reflects recent organizational changes implemented at the NRC, and includes the latest version of NARA`s General Records Schedule (dated August 1995).

  14. Cure Schedule for Stycast 2651/Catalyst 9.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kropka, Jamie Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); McCoy, John D. [New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)

    2017-11-01

    The Emerson & Cuming technical data sheet (TDS) for Stycast 2651/Catalyst 9 lists three alternate cure schedules for the material, each of which would result in a different state of reaction and different material properties. Here, a cure schedule that attains full reaction of the material is defined. The use of this cure schedule will eliminate variance in material properties due to changes in the cure state of the material, and the cure schedule will serve as the method to make material prior to characterizing properties. The following recommendation uses one of the schedules within the TDS and adds a “post cure” to obtain full reaction.

  15. Job shop scheduling problem with late work criterion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piroozfard, Hamed; Wong, Kuan Yew

    2015-05-01

    Scheduling is considered as a key task in many industries, such as project based scheduling, crew scheduling, flight scheduling, machine scheduling, etc. In the machine scheduling area, the job shop scheduling problems are considered to be important and highly complex, in which they are characterized as NP-hard. The job shop scheduling problems with late work criterion and non-preemptive jobs are addressed in this paper. Late work criterion is a fairly new objective function. It is a qualitative measure and concerns with late parts of the jobs, unlike classical objective functions that are quantitative measures. In this work, simulated annealing was presented to solve the scheduling problem. In addition, operation based representation was used to encode the solution, and a neighbourhood search structure was employed to search for the new solutions. The case studies are Lawrence instances that were taken from the Operations Research Library. Computational results of this probabilistic meta-heuristic algorithm were compared with a conventional genetic algorithm, and a conclusion was made based on the algorithm and problem.

  16. MEDICAL STAFF SCHEDULING USING SIMULATED ANNEALING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ladislav Rosocha

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The efficiency of medical staff is a fundamental feature of healthcare facilities quality. Therefore the better implementation of their preferences into the scheduling problem might not only rise the work-life balance of doctors and nurses, but also may result into better patient care. This paper focuses on optimization of medical staff preferences considering the scheduling problem.Methodology/Approach: We propose a medical staff scheduling algorithm based on simulated annealing, a well-known method from statistical thermodynamics. We define hard constraints, which are linked to legal and working regulations, and minimize the violations of soft constraints, which are related to the quality of work, psychic, and work-life balance of staff.Findings: On a sample of 60 physicians and nurses from gynecology department we generated monthly schedules and optimized their preferences in terms of soft constraints. Our results indicate that the final value of objective function optimized by proposed algorithm is more than 18-times better in violations of soft constraints than initially generated random schedule that satisfied hard constraints.Research Limitation/implication: Even though the global optimality of final outcome is not guaranteed, desirable solutionwas obtained in reasonable time. Originality/Value of paper: We show that designed algorithm is able to successfully generate schedules regarding hard and soft constraints. Moreover, presented method is significantly faster than standard schedule generation and is able to effectively reschedule due to the local neighborhood search characteristics of simulated annealing.

  17. Practical principles in appointment scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuiper, A.; Mandjes, M.

    2015-01-01

    Appointment schedules aim at achieving a proper balance between the conflicting interests of the service provider and her clients: a primary objective of the service provider is to fully utilize her available time, whereas clients want to avoid excessive waiting times. Setting up schedules that

  18. Sport Tournament Automated Scheduling System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raof R. A. A

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The organizer of sport events often facing problems such as wrong calculations of marks and scores, as well as difficult to create a good and reliable schedule. Most of the time, the issues about the level of integrity of committee members and also issues about errors made by human came into the picture. Therefore, the development of sport tournament automated scheduling system is proposed. The system will be able to automatically generate the tournament schedule as well as automatically calculating the scores of each tournament. The problem of scheduling the matches of a round robin and knock-out phase in a sport league are given focus. The problem is defined formally and the computational complexity is being noted. A solution algorithm is presented using a two-step approach. The first step is the creation of a tournament pattern and is based on known graph-theoretic method. The second one is an assignment problem and it is solved using a constraint based depth-first branch and bound procedure that assigns actual teams to numbers in the pattern. As a result, the scheduling process and knock down phase become easy for the tournament organizer and at the same time increasing the level of reliability.

  19. A Multiobjective Robust Scheduling Optimization Mode for Multienergy Hybrid System Integrated by Wind Power, Solar Photovoltaic Power, and Pumped Storage Power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lihui Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Wind power plant (WPP, photovoltaic generators (PV, cell-gas turbine (CGT, and pumped storage power station (PHSP are integrated into multienergy hybrid system (MEHS. Firstly, this paper presents MEHS structure and constructs a scheduling model with the objective functions of maximum economic benefit and minimum power output fluctuation. Secondly, in order to relieve the uncertainty influence of WPP and PV on system, robust stochastic theory is introduced to describe uncertainty and propose a multiobjective stochastic scheduling optimization mode by transforming constraint conditions with uncertain variables. Finally, a 9.6 MW WPP, a 6.5 MW PV, three CGT units, and an upper reservoir with 10 MW·h equivalent capacity are chosen as simulation system. The results show MEHS system can achieve the best operation result by using the multienergy hybrid generation characteristic. PHSP could shave peak and fill valley of load curve by optimizing pumping storage and inflowing generating behaviors based on the load supply and demand status and the available power of WPP and PV. Robust coefficients can relieve the uncertainty of WPP and PV and provide flexible scheduling decision tools for decision-makers with different risk attitudes by setting different robust coefficients, which could maximize economic benefits and minimize operation risks at the same time.

  20. A model for generating master surgical schedules to allow cyclic scheduling in operating room departments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oostrum, J.M.; van Houdenhoven, M.; Hurink, Johann L.; Hans, Elias W.; Wullink, Gerhard; Kazemier, G.

    2005-01-01

    This paper addresses the problem of operating room scheduling at the tactical level of hospital planning and control. Hospitals repetitively construct operating room schedules, which is a time consuming tedious and complex task. The stochasticity of the durations of surgical procedures complicates

  1. Cost, Schedule, And Performance Elements For Comparison of Hydrodynamic Models of Near-Surface Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 ii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iii Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. COST ...from the scope of this demonstration due to time constraints. Further study of this software would benefit similar cost , schedule, and performance...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA SYSTEMS ENGINEERING CAPSTONE PROJECT REPORT Approved for public release. Distribution

  2. Scheduling nursing personnel on a microcomputer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, C J; Kao, C Y

    1997-01-01

    Suggests that with the shortage of nursing personnel, hospital administrators have to pay more attention to the needs of nurses to retain and recruit them. Also asserts that improving nurses' schedules is one of the most economic ways for the hospital administration to create a better working environment for nurses. Develops an algorithm for scheduling nursing personnel. Contrary to the current hospital approach, which schedules nurses on a person-by-person basis, the proposed algorithm constructs schedules on a day-by-day basis. The algorithm has inherent flexibility in handling a variety of possible constraints and goals, similar to other non-cyclical approaches. But, unlike most other non-cyclical approaches, it can also generate a quality schedule in a short time on a microcomputer. The algorithm was coded in C language and run on a microcomputer. The developed software is currently implemented at a leading hospital in Taiwan. The response to the initial implementation is quite promising.

  3. 78 FR 28681 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-15

    ...''); and (iv) be rejected if a Customer order is resting on the Exchange book at the same price. In order... mechanism in an effort to lower execution charges by transacting with a Customer PIXL Order. When a Firm... Customers a rebate which should attract Customer order flow to the benefit of Specialists, Market Makers and...

  4. Vehicle and driver scheduling for public transit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-08-01

    The problem of driver scheduling involves the construction of a legal set of shifts, including allowance : of overtime, which cover the blocks in a particular vehicle schedule. A shift is the work scheduled to be performed by : a driver in one day, w...

  5. A hybrid job-shop scheduling system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellingrath, Bernd; Robbach, Peter; Bayat-Sarmadi, Fahid; Marx, Andreas

    1992-01-01

    The intention of the scheduling system developed at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Material Flow and Logistics is the support of a scheduler working in a job-shop. Due to the existing requirements for a job-shop scheduling system the usage of flexible knowledge representation and processing techniques is necessary. Within this system the attempt was made to combine the advantages of symbolic AI-techniques with those of neural networks.

  6. Brief-stimulus presentations on multiform tandem schedules

    OpenAIRE

    Reed, Phil

    1994-01-01

    Three experiments examined the influence of a brief stimulus (a light) on the behavior of food-deprived rats whose lever pressing on tandem schedules comprising components of different schedule types resulted in food presentation. In Experiment 1, either a tandem variable-ratio variable-interval or a tandem variable-interval variable-ratio schedule was used. The variable-interval requirement in the tandem variable-ratio variable-interval schedule was yoked to the time taken to complete the va...

  7. Mathematical programming and financial objectives for scheduling projects

    CERN Document Server

    Kimms, Alf

    2001-01-01

    Mathematical Programming and Financial Objectives for Scheduling Projects focuses on decision problems where the performance is measured in terms of money. As the title suggests, special attention is paid to financial objectives and the relationship of financial objectives to project schedules and scheduling. In addition, how schedules relate to other decisions is treated in detail. The book demonstrates that scheduling must be combined with project selection and financing, and that scheduling helps to give an answer to the planning issue of the amount of resources required for a project. The author makes clear the relevance of scheduling to cutting budget costs. The book is divided into six parts. The first part gives a brief introduction to project management. Part two examines scheduling projects in order to maximize their net present value. Part three considers capital rationing. Many decisions on selecting or rejecting a project cannot be made in isolation and multiple projects must be taken fully into a...

  8. TRICARE Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Benefit: Comparison with Medicaid and Commercial Benefits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maglione, Margaret; Kadiyala, Srikanth; Kress, Amii; Hastings, Jaime L; O'Hanlon, Claire E

    2017-01-01

    This study compared the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) benefit provided by TRICARE as an early intervention for autism spectrum disorder with similar benefits in Medicaid and commercial health insurance plans. The sponsor, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, was particularly interested in how a proposed TRICARE reimbursement rate decrease from $125 per hour to $68 per hour for ABA services performed by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst compared with reimbursement rates (defined as third-party payment to the service provider) in Medicaid and commercial health insurance plans. Information on ABA coverage in state Medicaid programs was collected from Medicaid state waiver databases; subsequently, Medicaid provider reimbursement data were collected from state Medicaid fee schedules. Applied Behavior Analysis provider reimbursement in the commercial health insurance system was estimated using Truven Health MarketScan® data. A weighted mean U.S. reimbursement rate was calculated for several services using cross-state information on the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Locations of potential provider shortages were also identified. Medicaid and commercial insurance reimbursement rates varied considerably across the United States. This project concluded that the proposed $68-per-hour reimbursement rate for services provided by a board certified analyst was more than 25 percent below the U.S. mean.

  9. A customizable, scalable scheduling and reporting system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Jody L; Whitman, Beverly J; Mackley, Lisa A; Armstrong, Robert; Shotto, Robert T

    2014-06-01

    Scheduling is essential for running a facility smoothly and for summarizing activities in use reports. The Penn State Hershey Clinical Simulation Center has developed a scheduling interface that uses off-the-shelf components, with customizations that adapt to each institution's data collection and reporting needs. The system is designed using programs within the Microsoft Office 2010 suite. Outlook provides the scheduling component, while the reporting is performed using Access or Excel. An account with a calendar is created for the main schedule, with separate resource accounts created for each room within the center. The Outlook appointment form's 2 default tabs are used, in addition to a customized third tab. The data are then copied from the calendar into either a database table or a spreadsheet, where the reports are generated.Incorporating this system into an institution-wide structure allows integration of personnel lists and potentially enables all users to check the schedule from their desktop. Outlook also has a Web-based application for viewing the basic schedule from outside the institution, although customized data cannot be accessed. The scheduling and reporting functions have been used for a year at the Penn State Hershey Clinical Simulation Center. The schedule has increased workflow efficiency, improved the quality of recorded information, and provided more accurate reporting. The Penn State Hershey Clinical Simulation Center's scheduling and reporting system can be adapted easily to most simulation centers and can expand and change to meet future growth with little or no expense to the center.

  10. The Composition of the Master Schedule

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Cynthia C.; Behrend, Dirk; MacMillan, Daniel S.

    2010-01-01

    Over a period of about four months, the IVS Coordinating Center (IVSCC) each year composes the Master Schedule for the IVS observing program of the next calendar year. The process begins in early July when the IVSCC contacts the IVS Network Stations to request information about available station time as well as holiday and maintenance schedules for the upcoming year. Going through various planning stages and a review process with the IVS Observing Program Committee (OPC), the final version of the Master Schedule is posted by early November. We describe the general steps of the composition and illustrate them with the example of the planning for the Master Schedule of the 2010 observing year.

  11. Developing optimal nurses work schedule using integer programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahidin, Ainon Mardhiyah; Said, Mohd Syazwan Md; Said, Noor Hizwan Mohamad; Sazali, Noor Izatie Amaliena

    2017-08-01

    Time management is the art of arranging, organizing and scheduling one's time for the purpose of generating more effective work and productivity. Scheduling is the process of deciding how to commit resources between varieties of possible tasks. Thus, it is crucial for every organization to have a good work schedule for their staffs. The job of Ward nurses at hospitals runs for 24 hours every day. Therefore, nurses will be working using shift scheduling. This study is aimed to solve the nurse scheduling problem at an emergency ward of a private hospital. A 7-day work schedule for 7 consecutive weeks satisfying all the constraints set by the hospital will be developed using Integer Programming. The work schedule for the nurses obtained gives an optimal solution where all the constraints are being satisfied successfully.

  12. 77 FR 41258 - FOIA Fee Schedule Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-13

    ... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. ACTION: Establishment of FOIA Fee Schedule. SUMMARY: The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is publishing its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update pursuant to...

  13. 76 FR 43819 - FOIA Fee Schedule Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-22

    ... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. ACTION: Establishment of FOIA Fee Schedule. SUMMARY: The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is publishing its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update pursuant to...

  14. 75 FR 7411 - Schedule of Water Charges

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-19

    ... DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION 18 CFR Part 410 Schedule of Water Charges AGENCY: Delaware River... Administrative Manual--Part III--Basin Regulations--Water Supply Charges to revise the schedule of water charges... commenter and the subject line ``Schedule of Water Charges.'' FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Please...

  15. Prescribed Travel Schedules for Fatigue Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitmire, Alexandra; Johnston, Smith; Lockley, Steven

    2011-01-01

    The NASA Fatigue Management Team is developing recommendations for managing fatigue during travel and for shift work operations, as Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Circadian Desynchrony in ISS Operations. The Guidelines provide the International Space Station (ISS ) flight surgeons and other operational clinicians with evidence-based recommendations for mitigating fatigue and other factors related to sleep loss and circadian desynchronization. As much international travel is involved both before and after flight, the guidelines provide recommendations for: pre-flight training, in-flight operations, and post-flight rehabilitation. The objective of is to standardize the process by which care is provided to crewmembers, ground controllers, and other support personnel such as trainers, when overseas travel or schedule shifting is required. Proper scheduling of countermeasures - light, darkness, melatonin, diet, exercise, and medications - is the cornerstone for facilitating circadian adaptation, improving sleep, enhancing alertness, and optimizing performance. The Guidelines provide, among other things, prescribed travel schedules that outline the specific implementation of these mitigation strategies. Each travel schedule offers evidence based protocols for properly using the NASA identified countermeasures for fatigue. This presentation will describe the travel implementation schedules and how these can be used to alleviate the effects of jet lag and/or schedule shifts.

  16. Scheduling multimedia services in cloud computing environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yunchang; Li, Chunlin; Luo, Youlong; Shao, Yanling; Zhang, Jing

    2018-02-01

    Currently, security is a critical factor for multimedia services running in the cloud computing environment. As an effective mechanism, trust can improve security level and mitigate attacks within cloud computing environments. Unfortunately, existing scheduling strategy for multimedia service in the cloud computing environment do not integrate trust mechanism when making scheduling decisions. In this paper, we propose a scheduling scheme for multimedia services in multi clouds. At first, a novel scheduling architecture is presented. Then, We build a trust model including both subjective trust and objective trust to evaluate the trust degree of multimedia service providers. By employing Bayesian theory, the subjective trust degree between multimedia service providers and users is obtained. According to the attributes of QoS, the objective trust degree of multimedia service providers is calculated. Finally, a scheduling algorithm integrating trust of entities is proposed by considering the deadline, cost and trust requirements of multimedia services. The scheduling algorithm heuristically hunts for reasonable resource allocations and satisfies the requirement of trust and meets deadlines for the multimedia services. Detailed simulated experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed trust scheduling scheme.

  17. Scheduling nurses’ shifts at PGI Cikini Hospital

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nainggolan, J. C. T.; Kusumastuti, R. D.

    2018-03-01

    Hospitals play an essential role in the community by providing medical services to the public. In order to provide high quality medical services, hospitals must manage their resources (including nurses) effectively and efficiently. Scheduling of nurses’ work shifts, in particular, is crucial, and must be conducted carefully to ensure availability and fairness. This research discusses the job scheduling system for nurses in PGI Cikini Hospital, Jakarta with Goal Programming approach. The research objectives are to identify nurse scheduling criteria and find the best schedule that can meet the criteria. The model has hospital regulations (including government regulations) as hard constraints, and nurses’ preferences as soft constraints. We gather primary data (hospital regulations and nurses’ preferences) through interviews with three Head Nurses and distributing questionnaires to fifty nurses. The results show that on the best schedule, all hard constraints can be satisfied. However, only two out of four soft constraints are satisfied. Compared to current scheduling practice, the resulting schedule ensures the availability of nurses as it satisfies all hospital’s regulations and it has a higher level of fairness as it can accommodate some of the nurses’ preferences.

  18. Analysis and Optimisation of Hierarchically Scheduled Multiprocessor Embedded Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pop, Traian; Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru

    2008-01-01

    We present an approach to the analysis and optimisation of heterogeneous multiprocessor embedded systems. The systems are heterogeneous not only in terms of hardware components, but also in terms of communication protocols and scheduling policies. When several scheduling policies share a resource......, they are organised in a hierarchy. In this paper, we first develop a holistic scheduling and schedulability analysis that determines the timing properties of a hierarchically scheduled system. Second, we address design problems that are characteristic to such hierarchically scheduled systems: assignment...... of scheduling policies to tasks, mapping of tasks to hardware components, and the scheduling of the activities. We also present several algorithms for solving these problems. Our heuristics are able to find schedulable implementations under limited resources, achieving an efficient utilisation of the system...

  19. Flow shop scheduling with heterogeneous workers

    OpenAIRE

    Benavides, Alexander J.; Ritt, Marcus; Miralles Insa, Cristóbal Javier

    2014-01-01

    We propose an extension to the flow shop scheduling problem named Heterogeneous Flow Shop Scheduling Problem (Het-FSSP), where two simultaneous issues have to be resolved: finding the best worker assignment to the workstations, and solving the corresponding scheduling problem. This problem is motivated by Sheltered Work centers for Disabled, whose main objective is the labor integration of persons with disabilities, an important aim not only for these centers but for any company d...

  20. An improved scheduling algorithm for linear networks

    KAUST Repository

    Bader, Ahmed; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Ayadi, Yassin

    2017-01-01

    In accordance with the present disclosure, embodiments of an exemplary scheduling controller module or device implement an improved scheduling process such that the targeted reduction in schedule length can be achieve while incurring minimal energy penalty by allowing for a large rate (or duration) selection alphabet.

  1. 21 CFR 113.83 - Establishing scheduled processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... commercial production runs should be determined on the basis of recognized scientific methods to be of a size... CONTAINERS Production and Process Controls § 113.83 Establishing scheduled processes. Scheduled processes for... production shall be adequately provided for in establishing the scheduled process. Critical factors, e.g...

  2. An improved scheduling algorithm for linear networks

    KAUST Repository

    Bader, Ahmed

    2017-02-09

    In accordance with the present disclosure, embodiments of an exemplary scheduling controller module or device implement an improved scheduling process such that the targeted reduction in schedule length can be achieve while incurring minimal energy penalty by allowing for a large rate (or duration) selection alphabet.

  3. Mechanisms for scheduling games with selfish players

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoeksma, R.P.

    2015-01-01

    Many challenges in operations research involve optimization. In particular, scheduling treats the optimal planning of tasks. This thesis focuses on machine scheduling models, where a number of tasks, called jobs, need to be scheduled on one or more machines. The outcome is determined by which job is

  4. Optimal investment and scheduling of distributed energy resources with uncertainty in electric vehicles driving schedules

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cardoso, Goncalo [Technical Univ. of Lisbon (Portugal); Stadler, Michael [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Center for Energy and Innovation Technologies (Austria); Bozchalui, Mohammed C. [NEC Laboratories American Inc., Irving, TX (United States); Sharma, Ratnesh [NEC Laboratories American Inc., Irving, TX (United States); Marnay, Chris [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Barbosa-Povoa, Ana [Technical Univ. of Lisbon (Portugal); Ferrao, Paulo [Technical Univ. of Lisbon (Portugal)

    2013-12-06

    The large scale penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) will introduce technical challenges to the distribution grid, but also carries the potential for vehicle-to-grid services. Namely, if available in large enough numbers, EVs can be used as a distributed energy resource (DER) and their presence can influence optimal DER investment and scheduling decisions in microgrids. In this work, a novel EV fleet aggregator model is introduced in a stochastic formulation of DER-CAM [1], an optimization tool used to address DER investment and scheduling problems. This is used to assess the impact of EV interconnections on optimal DER solutions considering uncertainty in EV driving schedules. Optimization results indicate that EVs can have a significant impact on DER investments, particularly if considering short payback periods. Furthermore, results suggest that uncertainty in driving schedules carries little significance to total energy costs, which is corroborated by results obtained using the stochastic formulation of the problem.

  5. An improved sheep flock heredity algorithm for job shop scheduling and flow shop scheduling problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chandramouli Anandaraman

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Job Shop Scheduling Problem (JSSP and Flow Shop Scheduling Problem (FSSP are strong NP-complete combinatorial optimization problems among class of typical production scheduling problems. An improved Sheep Flock Heredity Algorithm (ISFHA is proposed in this paper to find a schedule of operations that can minimize makespan. In ISFHA, the pairwise mutation operation is replaced by a single point mutation process with a probabilistic property which guarantees the feasibility of the solutions in the local search domain. A Robust-Replace (R-R heuristic is introduced in place of chromosomal crossover to enhance the global search and to improve the convergence. The R-R heuristic is found to enhance the exploring potential of the algorithm and enrich the diversity of neighborhoods. Experimental results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, whose optimization performance is markedly superior to that of genetic algorithms and is comparable to the best results reported in the literature.

  6. GSA eLibrary Schedules and Contracts

    Data.gov (United States)

    General Services Administration — GSA eLibrary (formerly Schedules e-Library) is the online source for the latest contract award information for: GSA Schedules; Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)...

  7. Minimizing tardiness for job shop scheduling under uncertainties

    OpenAIRE

    Yahouni , Zakaria; Mebarki , Nasser; Sari , Zaki

    2016-01-01

    International audience; —Many disturbances can occur during the execution of a manufacturing scheduling process. To cope with this drawback , flexible solutions are proposed based on the offline and the online phase of the schedule. Groups of permutable operations is one of the most studied flexible scheduling methods bringing flexibility as well as quality to a schedule. The online phase of this method is based on a human-machine system allowing to choose in real-time one schedule from a set...

  8. Integrated test schedule for buried waste integrated demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, J.T.; McDonald, J.K.

    1992-05-01

    The Integrated Test Schedule incorporates the various schedules the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration (BWID) supports into one document. This document contains the Federal Facilities Agreement and Consent Order schedules for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Hanford Reservation, Oak Ridge Reservation, and Fernald Environmental Materials Center. Included in the Integrated Test Schedule is the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration ''windows of opportunity'' schedule. The ''windows of opportunity'' schedule shows periods of time in which Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration Program-sponsored technology demonstrations could support key decisions in the Federal Facilities Agreement and Consent Order. Schedules for the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration-sponsored technology task plans are categorized by technology area and divided by current fiscal year and out-year. Total estimated costs for Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration-sponsored Technology Task Plans for FY-92 through FY-97 are $74.756M

  9. 14 CFR 399.81 - Unrealistic or deceptive scheduling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Unrealistic or deceptive scheduling. 399.81... Unrealistic or deceptive scheduling. (a) It is the policy of the Board to consider unrealistic scheduling of... to the advertising of scheduled performance, it is the policy of the Board to regard as an unfair or...

  10. Obtaining the Greatest Scientific Benefit from Observational Platforms by Consideration of the Relative Benefit of Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chelberg, David; Drews, Frank; Fleeman, David; Welch, Lonnie; Marquart, Jane; Pfarr, Barbara

    2003-01-01

    One of the current trends in spacecraft software design is to increase the autonomy of onboard flight and science software. This is especially true when real-time observations may affect the observation schedule of a mission. For many science missions, such as those conducted by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope, the ability of the spacecraft to autonomously respond in real-time to unpredicted science events is crucial for mission success. We apply utility theory within resource management middleware to optimize the real-time performance of application software and achieve maximum system level benefit. We then explore how this methodology can be extended to manage both software and observational resources onboard a spacecraft to achieve the best possible observations.

  11. LEARNING SCHEDULER PARAMETERS FOR ADAPTIVE PREEMPTION

    OpenAIRE

    Prakhar Ojha; Siddhartha R Thota; Vani M; Mohit P Tahilianni

    2015-01-01

    An operating system scheduler is expected to not allow processor stay idle if there is any process ready or waiting for its execution. This problem gains more importance as the numbers of processes always outnumber the processors by large margins. It is in this regard that schedulers are provided with the ability to preempt a running process, by following any scheduling algorithm, and give us an illusion of simultaneous running of several processes. A process which is allowed t...

  12. Topology-based hierarchical scheduling using deficit round robin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yu, Hao; Yan, Ying; Berger, Michael Stubert

    2009-01-01

    according to the topology. The mapping process could be completed through the network management plane or by manual configuration. Based on the knowledge of the network, the scheduler can manage the traffic on behalf of other less advanced nodes, avoid potential traffic congestion, and provide flow...... protection and isolation. Comparisons between hierarchical scheduling, flow-based scheduling, and class-based scheduling schemes have been carried out under a symmetric tree topology. Results have shown that the hierarchical scheduling scheme provides better flow protection and isolation from attack...

  13. 33 CFR 401.58 - Pleasure craft scheduling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Pleasure craft scheduling. 401.58... OF TRANSPORTATION SEAWAY REGULATIONS AND RULES Regulations Seaway Navigation § 401.58 Pleasure craft scheduling. (a) The transit of pleasure craft shall be scheduled by the traffic controller or the officer in...

  14. Spike: Artificial intelligence scheduling for Hubble space telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Mark; Miller, Glenn; Sponsler, Jeff; Vick, Shon; Jackson, Robert

    1990-01-01

    Efficient utilization of spacecraft resources is essential, but the accompanying scheduling problems are often computationally intractable and are difficult to approximate because of the presence of numerous interacting constraints. Artificial intelligence techniques were applied to the scheduling of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This presents a particularly challenging problem since a yearlong observing program can contain some tens of thousands of exposures which are subject to a large number of scientific, operational, spacecraft, and environmental constraints. New techniques were developed for machine reasoning about scheduling constraints and goals, especially in cases where uncertainty is an important scheduling consideration and where resolving conflicts among conflicting preferences is essential. These technique were utilized in a set of workstation based scheduling tools (Spike) for HST. Graphical displays of activities, constraints, and schedules are an important feature of the system. High level scheduling strategies using both rule based and neural network approaches were developed. While the specific constraints implemented are those most relevant to HST, the framework developed is far more general and could easily handle other kinds of scheduling problems. The concept and implementation of the Spike system are described along with some experiments in adapting Spike to other spacecraft scheduling domains.

  15. Step-by-step cyclic processes scheduling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bocewicz, G.; Nielsen, Izabela Ewa; Banaszak, Z.

    2013-01-01

    Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) fleet scheduling is one of the big problems in Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) control. The problem is more complicated when concurrent multi-product manufacturing and resource deadlock avoidance policies are considered. The objective of the research is to pro......Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) fleet scheduling is one of the big problems in Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) control. The problem is more complicated when concurrent multi-product manufacturing and resource deadlock avoidance policies are considered. The objective of the research...... is to provide a declarative model enabling to state a constraint satisfaction problem aimed at AGVs fleet scheduling subject to assumed itineraries of concurrently manufactured product types. In other words, assuming a given layout of FMS’s material handling and production routes of simultaneously manufactured...... orders, the main objective is to provide the declarative framework aimed at conditions allowing one to calculate the AGVs fleet schedule in online mode. An illustrative example of the relevant algebra-like driven step-by-stem cyclic scheduling is provided....

  16. Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xumei Chen

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The idea of corporate social responsibility has promoted bus operation agencies to rethink how to provide not only efficient but also environmentally friendly services for residents. A study on the potential of using an optimized design of skip-stop services, one of the essential operational strategies in practice, to reduce emissions is conducted in this paper. The underlying scheduling problem is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem with the primary objective of optimizing the total costs for both passengers and operating agencies, as well as with the secondary objective of minimizing bus emissions. A solution method is developed to solve the problem. A real-world case of Route 16 in Beijing is studied, in which the optimal scheduling strategy that maximizes the cost savings and environmental benefits is determined. The costs and emissions of the proposed scheduling strategy are compared with the optimal scheduling with skip-stop services without considering bus emissions. The results show that the proposed scheduling strategy outperforms the other operating strategy with respect to operational costs and bus emissions. A sensitivity study is then conducted to investigate the impact of the fleet size in operations and passenger demand on the effectiveness of the proposed stop-skipping strategy considering bus emissions.

  17. Routine environmental monitoring schedule, calendar year 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Markes, B.M., Westinghouse Hanford

    1996-12-10

    This document provides the Environmental Restorations Contractor (ERC) and the Project Hanford Management Contractor.(PHMC) a schedule in accordance with the WHC-CM-7-5, Environmental Compliance` and BHI- EE-02, Environmental Requirements, of monitoring and sampling routines for the Near-Field Monitoring (NFM) program during calendar year (CY) 1997. Every attempt will be made to consistently follow this schedule; any deviation from this schedule will be documented by an internal memorandum (DSI) explaining the reason for the deviation. The DSI will be issued by the scheduled performing organization and directed to Near-Field Monitoring. The survey frequencies for particular sites are determined by the technical judgment of Near- Field Monitoring and may depend on the site history, radiological status, use, and general conditions. Additional surveys may be requested at irregular frequencies if conditions warrant. All radioactive wastes sites are scheduled to be surveyed at least annually. Any newly discovered wastes sites not documented by this schedule will be included in the revised schedule for CY 1998. The outside perimeter road surveys of 200 East and West Area and the rail survey from the 300 Area to Columbia Center will be performed in the year 2000 per agreement with Department of Energy. Richland Field Office. This schedule does not discuss staffing needs, nor does it list the monitoring equipment to be used in completing specific routines. Personnel performing routines to meet this schedule shall communicate any need for assistance in completing these routines to Radiological Control management and Near-Field Monitoring. After each routine survey is completed, a copy of the survey record, maps, and data sheets will be forwarded to Near-Field Monitoring. These routine surveys will not be considered complete until this documentation is received. At the end of each month, the ERC and PHMC radiological control organizations shall forward a copy of the Routine

  18. Decay-usage scheduling in multiprocessors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Epema, D.H.J.

    1998-01-01

    Decay-usage scheduling is a priority-aging time-sharing scheduling policy capable of dealing with a workload of both interactive and batch jobs by decreasing the priority of a job when it acquires CPU time, and by increasing its priority when it does not use the (a) CPU. In this article we deal with

  19. A Time Scheduling Model of Logistics Service Supply Chain Based on the Customer Order Decoupling Point: A Perspective from the Constant Service Operation Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yi; Xu, Haitao; Liu, Xiaoyan; Wang, Yijia; Liang, Zhicheng

    2014-01-01

    In mass customization logistics service, reasonable scheduling of the logistics service supply chain (LSSC), especially time scheduling, is benefit to increase its competitiveness. Therefore, the effect of a customer order decoupling point (CODP) on the time scheduling performance should be considered. To minimize the total order operation cost of the LSSC, minimize the difference between the expected and actual time of completing the service orders, and maximize the satisfaction of functional logistics service providers, this study establishes an LSSC time scheduling model based on the CODP. Matlab 7.8 software is used in the numerical analysis for a specific example. Results show that the order completion time of the LSSC can be delayed or be ahead of schedule but cannot be infinitely advanced or infinitely delayed. Obtaining the optimal comprehensive performance can be effective if the expected order completion time is appropriately delayed. The increase in supply chain comprehensive performance caused by the increase in the relationship coefficient of logistics service integrator (LSI) is limited. The relative concern degree of LSI on cost and service delivery punctuality leads to not only changes in CODP but also to those in the scheduling performance of the LSSC. PMID:24715818

  20. A time scheduling model of logistics service supply chain based on the customer order decoupling point: a perspective from the constant service operation time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Weihua; Yang, Yi; Xu, Haitao; Liu, Xiaoyan; Wang, Yijia; Liang, Zhicheng

    2014-01-01

    In mass customization logistics service, reasonable scheduling of the logistics service supply chain (LSSC), especially time scheduling, is benefit to increase its competitiveness. Therefore, the effect of a customer order decoupling point (CODP) on the time scheduling performance should be considered. To minimize the total order operation cost of the LSSC, minimize the difference between the expected and actual time of completing the service orders, and maximize the satisfaction of functional logistics service providers, this study establishes an LSSC time scheduling model based on the CODP. Matlab 7.8 software is used in the numerical analysis for a specific example. Results show that the order completion time of the LSSC can be delayed or be ahead of schedule but cannot be infinitely advanced or infinitely delayed. Obtaining the optimal comprehensive performance can be effective if the expected order completion time is appropriately delayed. The increase in supply chain comprehensive performance caused by the increase in the relationship coefficient of logistics service integrator (LSI) is limited. The relative concern degree of LSI on cost and service delivery punctuality leads to not only changes in CODP but also to those in the scheduling performance of the LSSC.

  1. Quality-aware scheduling for key-value data stores

    CERN Document Server

    Xu, Chen

    2015-01-01

    This book comprehensively illustrates quality-ware scheduling in key-value stores. In addition, it provides scheduling strategies and a prototype framework of quality-aware scheduler as well as a demonstration of online applications. The book offers a rich blend of theory and practice which is suitable for students, researchers and practitioners interested in distributed systems, NoSQL key-value stores and scheduling.

  2. Schedulability Analysis for Java Finalizers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøgholm, Thomas; Hansen, Rene Rydhof; Søndergaard, Hans

    2010-01-01

    Java finalizers perform clean-up and finalisation of objects at garbage collection time. In real-time Java profiles the use of finalizers is either discouraged (RTSJ, Ravenscar Java) or even disallowed (JSR-302), mainly because of the unpredictability of finalizers and in particular their impact...... on the schedulability analysis. In this paper we show that a controlled scoped memory model results in a structured and predictable execution of finalizers, more reminiscent of C++ destructors than Java finalizers. Furthermore, we incorporate finalizers into a (conservative) schedulability analysis for Predictable Java...... programs. Finally, we extend the SARTS tool for automated schedulability analysis of Java bytecode programs to handle finalizers in a fully automated way....

  3. Nonblocking Scheduling for Web Service Transactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alrifai, Mohammad; Balke, Wolf-Tilo; Dolog, Peter

    2007-01-01

    . In this paper, we propose a novel nonblocking scheduling mechanism that is used prior to the actual service invocations. Its aim is to reach an agreement between the client and all participating providers on what transaction processing times have to be expected, accepted, and guaranteed. This enables service......For improved flexibility and concurrent usage existing transaction management models for Web services relax the isolation property of Web service-based transactions. Correctness of the concurrent execution then has to be ensured by commit order-preserving transaction schedulers. However, local...... schedulers of service providers typically do take into account neither time constraints for committing the whole transaction, nor the individual services' constraints when scheduling decisions are made. This often leads to an unnecessary blocking of transactions by (possibly long-running) others...

  4. Flexible Work Schedules. ERIC Digest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerka, Sandra

    Flexible work schedules are one response to changes in the composition of the work force, new life-styles, and changes in work attitudes. Types of alternative work schedules are part-time and temporary employment, job sharing, and flextime. Part-time workers are a diverse group--women, the very young, and older near-retirees. Although part-time…

  5. Routing and scheduling of hazardous materials shipments: algorithmic approaches to managing spent nuclear fuel transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cox, R.G.

    1984-01-01

    Much controversy surrounds government regulation of routing and scheduling of Hazardous Materials Transportation (HMT). Increases in operating costs must be balanced against expected benefits from local HMT bans and curfews when promulgating or preempting HMT regulations. Algorithmic approaches for evaluating HMT routing and scheduling regulatory policy are described. A review of current US HMT regulatory policy is presented to provide a context for the analysis. Next, a multiobjective shortest path algorithm to find the set of efficient routes under conflicting objectives is presented. This algorithm generates all efficient routes under any partial ordering in a single pass through the network. Also, scheduling algorithms are presented to estimate the travel time delay due to HMT curfews along a route. Algorithms are presented assuming either deterministic or stochastic travel times between curfew cities and also possible rerouting to avoid such cities. These algorithms are applied to the case study of US highway transport of spent nuclear fuel from reactors to permanent repositories. Two data sets were used. One data set included the US Interstate Highway System (IHS) network with reactor locations, possible repository sites, and 150 heavily populated areas (HPAs). The other data set contained estimates of the population residing with 0.5 miles of the IHS and the Eastern US. Curfew delay is dramatically reduced by optimally scheduling departure times unless inter-HPA travel times are highly uncertain. Rerouting shipments to avoid HPAs is a less efficient approach to reducing delay

  6. Toward an Autonomous Telescope Network: the TBT Scheduler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Racero, E.; Ibarra, A.; Ocaña, F.; de Lis, S. B.; Ponz, J. D.; Castillo, M.; Sánchez-Portal, M.

    2015-09-01

    Within the ESA SSA program, it is foreseen to deploy several robotic telescopes to provide surveillance and tracking services for hazardous objects. The TBT project will procure a validation platform for an autonomous optical observing system in a realistic scenario, consisting of two telescopes located in Spain and Australia, to collect representative test data for precursor SSA services. In this context, the planning and scheduling of the night consists of two software modules, the TBT Scheduler, that will allow the manual and autonomous planning of the night, and the control of the real-time response of the system, done by the RTS2 internal scheduler. The TBT Scheduler allocates tasks for both telescopes without human intervention. Every night it takes all the inputs needed and prepares the schedule following some predefined rules. The main purpose of the scheduler is the distribution of the time for follow-up of recently discovered targets and surveys. The TBT Scheduler considers the overall performance of the system, and combine follow-up with a priori survey strategies for both kind of objects. The strategy is defined according to the expected combined performance for both systems the upcoming night (weather, sky brightness, object accessibility and priority). Therefore, TBT Scheduler defines the global approach for the network and relies on the RTS2 internal scheduler for the final detailed distribution of tasks at each sensor.

  7. Modelling altered fractionation schedules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fowler, J.F.

    1993-01-01

    The author discusses the conflicting requirements of hyperfractionation and accelerated fractionation used in radiotherapy, and the development of computer modelling to predict how to obtain an optimum of tumour cell kill without exceeding normal-tissue tolerance. The present trend is to shorten hyperfractionated schedules from 6 or 7 weeks to give overall times of 4 or 5 weeks as in new schedules by Herskovic et al (1992) and Harari (1992). Very high doses are given, much higher than can be given when ultrashort schedules such as CHART (12 days) are used. Computer modelling has suggested that optimum overall times, to yield maximum cell kill in tumours ((α/β = 10 Gy) for a constant level of late complications (α/β = 3 Gy) would be X or X-1 weeks, where X is the doubling time of the tumour cells in days (Fowler 1990). For median doubling times of about 5 days, overall times of 4 or 5 weeks should be ideal. (U.K.)

  8. Pittsburgh International Airport - Scheduled Passenger Traffic

    Data.gov (United States)

    Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Here you can find Pittsburgh International Airport’s Monthly Scheduled Traffic Reports. Each of these reports contain a year-over-year (YOY) analysis of scheduled...

  9. Fuzzy generation scheduling for a generation company (GenCo) with large scale wind farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siahkali, H.; Vakilian, M.

    2010-01-01

    Wind power is a promising alternative in power generation because of its tremendous environmental and social benefits. Generation scheduling (GS) is more important in a power system integrating wind farms. Unlike conventional power generation sources, wind power generators supply intermittent power because of uncertainty in resource. This paper presents a fuzzy approach to the generation scheduling problem of a GenCo considering uncertainties in parameters or constraints such as load, reserve and available wind power generation. The modeling of constraints is an important issue in power system scheduling. A fuzzy optimization approach is an approach that can be used to obtain the generation scheduling under an uncertain environment. In this paper, a fuzzy optimization-based method is developed to solve power system GS problem with fuzzy objective and constraints. The crisp formulation of this GS problem is firstly defined and is rearranged by introduction of a membership function of some constraints and objective function. Then, this fuzzy optimization problem is converted to a crisp optimization and solved using GAMS software by mixed integer nonlinear programming. Employing the fuzzy optimization GS, it is expected that in practice a higher profit would be achieved in the operation and cost management of a real power system with large scale wind farms in different level of constraints' satisfaction. The proposed approach is applied to a sample system (including six conventional units and two wind farms) and the results are compared with the results of crisp solution. This approach is also applied to a larger test case to demonstrate the robustness of this fuzzy optimization method.

  10. Cloud Service Scheduling Algorithm Research and Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongyan Cui

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a cloud service scheduling model that is referred to as the Task Scheduling System (TSS. In the user module, the process time of each task is in accordance with a general distribution. In the task scheduling module, we take a weighted sum of makespan and flowtime as the objective function and use an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO and a Genetic Algorithm (GA to solve the problem of cloud task scheduling. Simulation results show that the convergence speed and output performance of our Genetic Algorithm-Chaos Ant Colony Optimization (GA-CACO are optimal.

  11. A Gas Scheduling Optimization Model for Steel Enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niu Honghai

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Regarding the scheduling problems of steel enterprises, this research designs the gas scheduling optimization model according to the rules and priorities. Considering different features and the process changes of the gas unit in the process of actual production, the calculation model of process state and gas consumption soft measurement together with the rules of scheduling optimization is proposed to provide the dispatchers with real-time gas using status of each process, then help them to timely schedule and reduce the gas volume fluctuations. In the meantime, operation forewarning and alarm functions are provided to avoid the abnormal situation in the scheduling, which has brought about very good application effect in the actual scheduling and ensures the safety of the gas pipe network system and the production stability.

  12. A reduced feedback proportional fair multiuser scheduling scheme

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad

    2011-12-01

    Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed and ordered scheduling mechanism. A slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we propose a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-diversity scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the per-user feedback thresholds. We demonstrate by numerical examples that our reduced feedback proportional fair scheduler operates within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the achievable rates by the conventional full feedback proportional fair scheduler in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2011 IEEE.

  13. Where do we stand with fuzzy project scheduling?

    CERN Document Server

    Bonnal, Pierre; Lacoste, Germain

    2004-01-01

    Fuzzy project scheduling has interested several researchers in the past two decades; about 20 articles have been written on this issue. Contrary to stochastic project-scheduling approaches that are used by many project schedulers, and even if the axiomatic associated to the theory of probabilities is not always compatible with decision-making situations, fuzzy project-scheduling approaches that are most suited to these situations have been kept in the academic sphere. This paper starts by recalling the differences one can observe between uncertainty and imprecision. Then most of the published research works that have been done in this field are summarized. Finally, a framework for addressing the resource-constrained fuzzy project- scheduling problem is proposed. This framework uses temporal linguistic descriptors, which might become very interesting features to the project-scheduling practitioners.

  14. Job schedulers for Big data processing in Hadoop environment: testing real-life schedulers using benchmark programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohd Usama

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available At present, big data is very popular, because it has proved to be much successful in many fields such as social media, E-commerce transactions, etc. Big data describes the tools and technologies needed to capture, manage, store, distribute, and analyze petabyte or larger-sized datasets having different structures with high speed. Big data can be structured, unstructured, or semi structured. Hadoop is an open source framework that is used to process large amounts of data in an inexpensive and efficient way, and job scheduling is a key factor for achieving high performance in big data processing. This paper gives an overview of big data and highlights the problems and challenges in big data. It then highlights Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS, Hadoop MapReduce, and various parameters that affect the performance of job scheduling algorithms in big data such as Job Tracker, Task Tracker, Name Node, Data Node, etc. The primary purpose of this paper is to present a comparative study of job scheduling algorithms along with their experimental results in Hadoop environment. In addition, this paper describes the advantages, disadvantages, features, and drawbacks of various Hadoop job schedulers such as FIFO, Fair, capacity, Deadline Constraints, Delay, LATE, Resource Aware, etc, and provides a comparative study among these schedulers.

  15. Mission Operations Planning and Scheduling System (MOPSS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Terri; Hempel, Paul

    2011-01-01

    MOPSS is a generic framework that can be configured on the fly to support a wide range of planning and scheduling applications. It is currently used to support seven missions at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in roles that include science planning, mission planning, and real-time control. Prior to MOPSS, each spacecraft project built its own planning and scheduling capability to plan satellite activities and communications and to create the commands to be uplinked to the spacecraft. This approach required creating a data repository for storing planning and scheduling information, building user interfaces to display data, generating needed scheduling algorithms, and implementing customized external interfaces. Complex scheduling problems that involved reacting to multiple variable situations were analyzed manually. Operators then used the results to add commands to the schedule. Each architecture was unique to specific satellite requirements. MOPSS is an expert system that automates mission operations and frees the flight operations team to concentrate on critical activities. It is easily reconfigured by the flight operations team as the mission evolves. The heart of the system is a custom object-oriented data layer mapped onto an Oracle relational database. The combination of these two technologies allows a user or system engineer to capture any type of scheduling or planning data in the system's generic data storage via a GUI.

  16. Post LS1 schedule

    CERN Document Server

    Lamont, M

    2014-01-01

    The scheduling limits for a typical long year taking into account technical stops, machine development, spe- cial physics runs are presented. An attempt is then made to outline a ten year post LS1 schedule taking into account the disparate requirements outlined in the previous talks in this session. The demands on the planned long shutdowns and the impact of these demands on their proposed length will be discussed. The option of using ion running as a pre-shutdown cool-down period will be addressed.

  17. Staffing, overtime, and shift scheduling project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, P.M.

    1989-01-01

    Recent events at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant have demonstrated the need to establish a quantifiable basis for assessing the safety significance of long work hours on nuclear power plant operators. The incidents at TMI-2, Chernobyl, and Bhopal, which all occurred during the late evening/night shift, further highlight the importance of the relationship between shift scheduling and performance. The objective of this project is to estimate, using statistical analysis on data from the nuclear industry, the effects on safety of staffing levels, overtime, and shift scheduling for operators and maintenance personnel. Regarding staffing levels, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) currently has no explicit regulation concerning the minimum acceptable levels of staffing in a plant that has an operating license. The NRC has no systematic method for collecting data on the number of licensed operators on the operating crews. In 1982 the NRC recommended that plants write into their technical specifications a model policy on overtime. Currently, 77 nuclear power plant units have the model policy or a modification of it written into their technical specifications; 33 units have no policy on overtime. The model policy sets limits on overtime for safety related personnel, although these limits can be exceeded with plant manger approval. The US nuclear power industry has three types of shift schedules: (1) forward-rotating 8-hour/day shift schedules, (2) backward-rotating 8-hour/day schedules, and (3) 12-hour/day schedules

  18. Realistic Scheduling Mechanism for Smart Homes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danish Mahmood

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we propose a Realistic Scheduling Mechanism (RSM to reduce user frustration and enhance appliance utility by classifying appliances with respective constraints and their time of use effectively. Algorithms are proposed regarding functioning of home appliances. A 24 hour time slot is divided into four logical sub-time slots, each composed of 360 min or 6 h. In these sub-time slots, only desired appliances (with respect to appliance classification are scheduled to raise appliance utility, restricting power consumption by a dynamically modelled power usage limiter that does not only take the electricity consumer into account but also the electricity supplier. Once appliance, time and power usage limiter modelling is done, we use a nature-inspired heuristic algorithm, Binary Particle Swarm Optimization (BPSO, optimally to form schedules with given constraints representing each sub-time slot. These schedules tend to achieve an equilibrium amongst appliance utility and cost effectiveness. For validation of the proposed RSM, we provide a comparative analysis amongst unscheduled electrical load usage, scheduled directly by BPSO and RSM, reflecting user comfort, which is based upon cost effectiveness and appliance utility.

  19. Scheduling Network Traffic for Grid Purposes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gamst, Mette

    This thesis concerns scheduling of network traffic in grid context. Grid computing consists of a number of geographically distributed computers, which work together for solving large problems. The computers are connected through a network. When scheduling job execution in grid computing, data...... transmission has so far not been taken into account. This causes stability problems, because data transmission takes time and thus causes delays to the execution plan. This thesis proposes the integration of job scheduling and network routing. The scientific contribution is based on methods from operations...... research and consists of six papers. The first four considers data transmission in grid context. The last two solves the data transmission problem, where the number of paths per data connection is bounded from above. The thesis shows that it is possible to solve the integrated job scheduling and network...

  20. Scheduling job shop - A case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abas, M.; Abbas, A.; Khan, W. A.

    2016-08-01

    The scheduling in job shop is important for efficient utilization of machines in the manufacturing industry. There are number of algorithms available for scheduling of jobs which depend on machines tools, indirect consumables and jobs which are to be processed. In this paper a case study is presented for scheduling of jobs when parts are treated on available machines. Through time and motion study setup time and operation time are measured as total processing time for variety of products having different manufacturing processes. Based on due dates different level of priority are assigned to the jobs and the jobs are scheduled on the basis of priority. In view of the measured processing time, the times for processing of some new jobs are estimated and for efficient utilization of the machines available an algorithm is proposed and validated.

  1. Modeling the Cray memory scheduler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wickham, K.L.; Litteer, G.L.

    1992-04-01

    This report documents the results of a project to evaluate low cost modeling and simulation tools when applied to modeling the Cray memory scheduler. The specific tool used is described and the basics of the memory scheduler are covered. Results of simulations using the model are discussed and a favorable recommendation is made to make more use of this inexpensive technology.

  2. Demonstrating demand response from water distribution system through pump scheduling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menke, Ruben; Abraham, Edo; Parpas, Panos; Stoianov, Ivan

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Water distribution systems can profitably provide demand response energy. • STOR and FFR are financially viable under a wide range of operating conditions. • Viability depends on the pump utilisation and peak price of the electricity tariff. • Total GHG emissions caused by the provision of reserve energy are <300 gCO_2/kW h. • These are lower than those from the major reserve energy provision technologies. - Abstract: Significant changes in the power generation mix are posing new challenges for the balancing systems of the grid. Many of these challenges are in the secondary electricity grid regulation services and could be met through demand response (DR) services. We explore the opportunities for a water distribution system (WDS) to provide balancing services with demand response through pump scheduling and evaluate the associated benefits. Using a benchmark network and demand response mechanisms available in the UK, these benefits are assessed in terms of reduced green house gas (GHG) emissions from the grid due to the displacement of more polluting power sources and additional revenues for water utilities. The optimal pump scheduling problem is formulated as a mixed-integer optimisation problem and solved using a branch and bound algorithm. This new formulation finds the optimal level of power capacity to commit to the provision of demand response for a range of reserve energy provision and frequency response schemes offered in the UK. For the first time we show that DR from WDS can offer financial benefits to WDS operators while providing response energy to the grid with less greenhouse gas emissions than competing reserve energy technologies. Using a Monte Carlo simulation based on data from 2014, we demonstrate that the cost of providing the storage energy is less than the financial compensation available for the equivalent energy supply. The GHG emissions from the demand response provision from a WDS are also shown to be smaller than

  3. Robust Optimization for Household Load Scheduling with Uncertain Parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jidong Wang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Home energy management systems (HEMS face many challenges of uncertainty, which have a great impact on the scheduling of home appliances. To handle the uncertain parameters in the household load scheduling problem, this paper uses a robust optimization method to rebuild the household load scheduling model for home energy management. The model proposed in this paper can provide the complete robust schedules for customers while considering the disturbance of uncertain parameters. The complete robust schedules can not only guarantee the customers’ comfort constraints but also cooperatively schedule the electric devices for cost minimization and load shifting. Moreover, it is available for customers to obtain multiple schedules through setting different robust levels while considering the trade-off between the comfort and economy.

  4. The robust schedule - A link to improved workflow

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindhard, Søren; Wandahl, Søren

    2012-01-01

    -down the contractors, and force them to rigorously adhere to the initial schedule. If delayed the work-pace or manpower has to be increased to observe the schedule. In attempt to improve productivity three independent site-mangers have been interviewed about time-scheduling. Their experiences and opinions have been...... analyzed and weaknesses in existing time scheduling have been found. The findings showed a negative side effect of keeping the schedule to tight. A too tight schedule is inflexible and cannot absorb variability in production. Flexibility is necessary because of the contractors interacting and dependable....... The result is a chaotic, complex and uncontrolled construction site. Furthermore, strict time limits entail the workflow to be optimized under non-optimal conditions. Even though productivity seems to be increasing, productivity per man-hour is decreasing resulting in increased cost. To increase productivity...

  5. Shiftwork Scheduling for the 1990s.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Richard M.

    1989-01-01

    The author discusses the problems of scheduling shift work, touching on such topics as employee desires, health requirements, and business needs. He presents a method for developing shift schedules that addresses these three areas. Implementation hints are also provided. (CH)

  6. CMS Records Schedule

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The CMS Records Schedule provides disposition authorizations approved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for CMS program-related records...

  7. Planning construction of integrative schedule management for nuclear power project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng Zhenglin; Wang Wenying; Peng Fei

    2012-01-01

    This paper introduces the planning construction of integrative schedule management for Nuclear Power Project. It details schedule management system and the requirement of schedulers and the mode of three schedule management flats. And analysis it combing with the implementation of construction water and all special schedules before FCD to further propose the improving and researching direction for the integrative schedule management. (authors)

  8. Spent nuclear fuel project integrated schedule plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Squires, K.G.

    1995-01-01

    The Spent Nuclear Fuel Integrated Schedule Plan establishes the organizational responsibilities, rules for developing, maintain and status of the SNF integrated schedule, and an implementation plan for the integrated schedule. The mission of the SNFP on the Hanford site is to provide safe, economic, environmentally sound management of Hanford SNF in a manner which stages it to final disposition. This particularly involves K Basin fuel

  9. Spent nuclear fuel project integrated schedule plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Squires, K.G.

    1995-03-06

    The Spent Nuclear Fuel Integrated Schedule Plan establishes the organizational responsibilities, rules for developing, maintain and status of the SNF integrated schedule, and an implementation plan for the integrated schedule. The mission of the SNFP on the Hanford site is to provide safe, economic, environmentally sound management of Hanford SNF in a manner which stages it to final disposition. This particularly involves K Basin fuel.

  10. Communicating the benefits of combination vaccines to parents and health care providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koslap-Petraco, Mary Beth; Parsons, Tamra

    2003-01-01

    Infants may receive as many as 5 separate injections at an office visit in order to comply with the 2002 childhood immunization schedule. Many parents and healthcare providers disagree with administering 4 or 5 injections at one visit, and therefore may delay some injections until another visit. This practice may lead to decreased compliance and can increase costs for the parent. New combination vaccines will help to simplify the immunization schedule, and health care providers will need to be able to address parental concerns regarding these vaccines. Nurses are often responsible for administering vaccines in the office setting, and therefore are also influential in deciding which vaccines should be ordered. The purpose of this article is to educate nurses on communicating the benefits of combination vaccines to parents and other healthcare providers.

  11. Distributed Demand Side Management with Battery Storage for Smart Home Energy Scheduling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omowunmi Mary Longe

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The role of Demand Side Management (DSM with Distributed Energy Storage (DES has been gaining attention in recent studies due to the impact of the latter on energy management in the smart grid. In this work, an Energy Scheduling and Distributed Storage (ESDS algorithm is proposed to be installed into the smart meters of Time-of-Use (TOU pricing consumers possessing in-home energy storage devices. Source of energy supply to the smart home appliances was optimized between the utility grid and the DES device depending on energy tariff and consumer demand satisfaction information. This is to minimize consumer energy expenditure and maximize demand satisfaction simultaneously. The ESDS algorithm was found to offer consumer-friendly and utility-friendly enhancements to the DSM program such as energy, financial, and investment savings, reduced/eliminated consumer dissatisfaction even at peak periods, Peak-to-Average-Ratio (PAR demand reduction, grid energy sustainability, socio-economic benefits, and other associated benefits such as environmental-friendliness.

  12. Agent-based scheduling for aircraft deicing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mao, X.; Ter Mors, A.W.; Roos, N.; Witteveen, C.

    2006-01-01

    The planning and scheduling of the deicing and anti-icing activities is an important and challenging part of airport departure planning. Deicing planning has to be done in a highly dynamic environment involving several autonomous and self-interested parties. Traditional centralized scheduling

  13. PROMSYS, Plant Equipment Maintenance and Inspection Scheduling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morgan, D.L.; Srite, B.E.

    1986-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: PROMSYS is a computer system designed to automate the scheduling of routine maintenance and inspection of plant equipment. This 'programmed maintenance' provides the detailed planning and accomplishment of lubrication, inspection, and similar repetitive maintenance activities which can be scheduled at specified predetermined intervals throughout the year. The equipment items included are the typical pumps, blowers, motors, compressors, automotive equipment, refrigeration units, filtering systems, machine shop equipment, cranes, elevators, motor-generator sets, and electrical switchgear found throughout industry, as well as cell ventilation, shielding, containment, and material handling equipment unique to nuclear research and development facilities. Four related programs are used to produce sorted schedule lists, delinquent work lists, and optional master lists. Five additional programs are used to create and maintain records of all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance history. 2 - Method of solution: Service specifications and frequency are established and stored. The computer program reviews schedules weekly and prints, on schedule cards, instructions for service that is due the following week. The basic output from the computer program comes in two forms: programmed-maintenance schedule cards and programmed-maintenance data sheets. The data sheets can be issued in numerical building, route, and location number sequence as equipment lists, grouped for work assigned to a particular foreman as the foreman's equipment list, or grouped by work charged to a particular work order as the work-order list. Data sheets grouped by equipment classification are called the equipment classification list

  14. Integrated multi-resource planning and scheduling in engineering project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samer Ben Issa

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Planning and scheduling processes in project management are carried out sequentially in prac-tice, i.e. planning project activities first without visibility of resource limitation, and then schedul-ing the project according to these pre-planned activities. This is a need to integrate these two pro-cesses. In this paper, we use Branch and Bound approach for generating all the feasible and non-feasible project schedules with/without activity splitting, and with a new criterion called “the Minimum Moments of Resources Required around X-Y axes (MMORR”, we select the best feasible project schedule to integrate plan processing and schedule processing for engineering projects. The results illustrate that this integrated approach can effectively select the best feasible project schedule among alternatives, improves the resource utilization, and shortens the project lead time.

  15. Diverse task scheduling for individualized requirements in cloud manufacturing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Longfei; Zhang, Lin; Zhao, Chun; Laili, Yuanjun; Xu, Lida

    2018-03-01

    Cloud manufacturing (CMfg) has emerged as a new manufacturing paradigm that provides ubiquitous, on-demand manufacturing services to customers through network and CMfg platforms. In CMfg system, task scheduling as an important means of finding suitable services for specific manufacturing tasks plays a key role in enhancing the system performance. Customers' requirements in CMfg are highly individualized, which leads to diverse manufacturing tasks in terms of execution flows and users' preferences. We focus on diverse manufacturing tasks and aim to address their scheduling issue in CMfg. First of all, a mathematical model of task scheduling is built based on analysis of the scheduling process in CMfg. To solve this scheduling problem, we propose a scheduling method aiming for diverse tasks, which enables each service demander to obtain desired manufacturing services. The candidate service sets are generated according to subtask directed graphs. An improved genetic algorithm is applied to searching for optimal task scheduling solutions. The effectiveness of the scheduling method proposed is verified by a case study with individualized customers' requirements. The results indicate that the proposed task scheduling method is able to achieve better performance than some usual algorithms such as simulated annealing and pattern search.

  16. Schedules of controlled substances: temporary placement of three synthetic cannabinoids into Schedule I. Final order.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-16

    The Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is issuing this final order to temporarily schedule three synthetic cannabinoids under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of 21 U.S.C. 811(h). The substances are (1-pentyl-1H-indol-3-yl)(2,2,3,3-tetramethylcyclopropyl)methanone (UR-144), [1-(5-fluoro-pentyl)-1H-indol-3-yl](2,2,3,3-tetramethylcyclopropyl)methanone (5-fluoro-UR-144, XLR11) and N-(1-adamantyl)-1-pentyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide (APINACA, AKB48). This action is based on a finding by the Deputy Administrator that the placement of these synthetic cannabinoids and their salts, isomers and salts of isomers into Schedule I of the CSA is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. As a result of this order, the full effect of the CSA and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSIEA) and their implementing regulations including criminal, civil and administrative penalties, sanctions and regulatory controls of Schedule I substances will be imposed on the manufacture, distribution, possession, importation, and exportation of these synthetic cannabinoids.

  17. Interoceanic canal excavation scheduling via computer simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baldonado, Orlino C [Holmes and Narver, Inc., Los Angeles, CA (United States)

    1970-05-15

    The computer simulation language GPSS/360 was used to simulate the schedule of several nuclear detonation programs for the interoceanic canal project. The effects of using different weather restriction categories due to air blast and fallout were investigated. The effect of increasing the number of emplacement and stemming crews and the effect of varying the reentry period after detonating a row charge or salvo were also studied. Detonation programs were simulated for the proposed Routes 17A and 25E. The study demonstrates the method of using computer simulation so that a schedule and its associated constraints can be assessed for feasibility. Since many simulation runs can be made for a given set of detonation program constraints, one readily obtains an average schedule for a range of conditions. This provides a method for analyzing time-sensitive operations so that time and cost-effective operational schedules can be established. A comparison of the simulated schedules with those that were published shows them to be similar. (author)

  18. Interoceanic canal excavation scheduling via computer simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldonado, Orlino C.

    1970-01-01

    The computer simulation language GPSS/360 was used to simulate the schedule of several nuclear detonation programs for the interoceanic canal project. The effects of using different weather restriction categories due to air blast and fallout were investigated. The effect of increasing the number of emplacement and stemming crews and the effect of varying the reentry period after detonating a row charge or salvo were also studied. Detonation programs were simulated for the proposed Routes 17A and 25E. The study demonstrates the method of using computer simulation so that a schedule and its associated constraints can be assessed for feasibility. Since many simulation runs can be made for a given set of detonation program constraints, one readily obtains an average schedule for a range of conditions. This provides a method for analyzing time-sensitive operations so that time and cost-effective operational schedules can be established. A comparison of the simulated schedules with those that were published shows them to be similar. (author)

  19. 46 CFR 525.2 - Terminal schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... domestic law and international conventions and agreements adopted by the United States; such terminal... their own negligence, or that impose upon others the obligation to indemnify or hold-harmless the terminals from liability for their own negligence. (2) Enforcement of terminal schedules. Any schedule that...

  20. Robust scheduling in an uncertain environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wilson, M.

    2016-01-01

    This thesis presents research on scheduling in an uncertain environment, which forms a part of the rolling stock life cycle logistics applied research and development program funded by Dutch railway industry companies. The focus therefore lies on scheduling of maintenance operations on rolling stock

  1. Determinants of Medicare plan choices: are beneficiaries more influenced by premiums or benefits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Paul D; Buntin, Melinda B

    2015-07-01

    To evaluate the sensitivity of Medicare beneficiaries to premiums and benefits when selecting healthcare plans after the introduction of Part D. We matched respondents in the 2008 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to the Medicare Advantage (MA) plans available to them using the Bid Pricing Tool and previously unavailable data on beneficiaries' plan choices. We estimated a 2-stage nested logit model of Medicare plan choice decision making, including the decision to choose traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare or an MA plan, and for those choosing MA, which specific plan they chose. Beneficiaries living in areas with higher average monthly rebates available from MA plans were more likely to choose MA rather than FFS. When choosing MA plans, beneficiaries are roughly 2 to 3 times more responsive to dollars spent to reduce cost sharing than reductions in their premium. We calculated an elasticity of plan choice with respect to the monthly MA premium of -0.20. Beneficiaries with lower incomes are more sensitive to plan premiums and cost sharing than higher-income beneficiaries. MA plans appear to have a limited incentive to aggressively price their products, and seem to compete primarily over reduced beneficiary cost sharing. Given the limitations of the current plan choice environment, policies designed to encourage the selection of lower-cost plans may require increasing premium differences between plans and providing the tools to enable beneficiaries to easily assess those differences.

  2. Solving project scheduling problems by minimum cut computations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Möhring, R.H.; Schulz, A.S.; Stork, F.; Uetz, Marc Jochen

    In project scheduling, a set of precedence-constrained jobs has to be scheduled so as to minimize a given objective. In resource-constrained project scheduling, the jobs additionally compete for scarce resources. Due to its universality, the latter problem has a variety of applications in

  3. DMEPOS Fee Schedule

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The list contains the fee schedule amounts, floors, and ceilings for all procedure codes and payment category, jurisdication, and short description assigned to each...

  4. Optimal investment and scheduling of distributed energy resources with uncertainty in electric vehicle driving schedules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cardoso, G.; Stadler, M.; Bozchalui, M.C.; Sharma, R.; Marnay, C.; Barbosa-Póvoa, A.; Ferrão, P.

    2014-01-01

    The large scale penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) will introduce technical challenges to the distribution grid, but also carries the potential for vehicle-to-grid services. Namely, if available in large enough numbers, EVs can be used as a distributed energy resource (DER) and their presence can influence optimal DER investment and scheduling decisions in microgrids. In this work, a novel EV fleet aggregator model is introduced in a stochastic formulation of DER-CAM [1], an optimization tool used to address DER investment and scheduling problems. This is used to assess the impact of EV interconnections on optimal DER solutions considering uncertainty in EV driving schedules. Optimization results indicate that EVs can have a significant impact on DER investments, particularly if considering short payback periods. Furthermore, results suggest that uncertainty in driving schedules carries little significance to total energy costs, which is corroborated by results obtained using the stochastic formulation of the problem. - Highlights: • This paper introduces a new EV aggregator model in the DER-CAM model and expands it with a stochastic formulation. • The model is used to analyze the impact of EVs in DER investment decisions in a large office building. • The uncertainty in EV driving patterns is considered through scenarios based on data from a daily commute driving survey. • Results indicate that EVs have a significant impact in optimal DER decisions, particularly when looking at short payback periods. • Furthermore, results indicate that uncertainty in EV driving schedules has little impact on DER investment decisions

  5. Optimal scheduling of micro grids based on single objective programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yue

    2018-04-01

    Faced with the growing demand for electricity and the shortage of fossil fuels, how to optimally optimize the micro-grid has become an important research topic to maximize the economic, technological and environmental benefits of the micro-grid. This paper considers the role of the battery and the micro-grid and power grid to allow the exchange of power not exceeding 150kW preconditions, the main study of the economy to load for the goal is to minimize the electricity cost (abandonment of wind), to establish an optimization model, and to solve the problem by genetic algorithm. The optimal scheduling scheme is obtained and the utilization of renewable energy and the impact of the battery involved in regulation are analyzed.

  6. Designing of vague logic based multilevel feedback queue scheduler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Supriya Raheja

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Multilevel feedback queue scheduler suffers from major issues of scheduling such as starvation for long tasks, fixed number of queues, and static length of time quantum in each queue. These factors directly affect the performance of the scheduler. At many times impreciseness exists in attributes of tasks which make the performance even worse. In this paper, our intent is to improve the performance by providing a solution to these issues. We design a multilevel feedback queue scheduler using a vague set which we call as VMLFQ scheduler. VMLFQ scheduler intelligently handles the impreciseness and defines the optimum number of queues as well as the optimal size of time quantum for each queue. It also resolves the problem of starvation. This paper simulates and analyzes the performance of VMLFQ scheduler with the other multilevel feedback queue techniques using MatLab.

  7. Optimal treatment scheduling of ionizing radiation and sunitinib improves the antitumor activity and allows dose reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kleibeuker, Esther A; Hooven, Matthijs A ten; Castricum, Kitty C; Honeywell, Richard; Griffioen, Arjan W; Verheul, Henk M; Slotman, Ben J; Thijssen, Victor L

    2015-01-01

    The combination of radiotherapy with sunitinib is clinically hampered by rare but severe side effects and varying results with respect to clinical benefit. We studied different scheduling regimes and dose reduction in sunitinib and radiotherapy in preclinical tumor models to improve potential outcome of this combination treatment strategy. The chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) was used as an angiogenesis in vivo model and as a xenograft model with human tumor cells (HT29 colorectal adenocarcinoma, OE19 esophageal adenocarcinoma). Treatment consisted of ionizing radiation (IR) and sunitinib as single therapy or in combination, using different dose-scheduling regimes. Sunitinib potentiated the inhibitory effect of IR (4 Gy) on angiogenesis. In addition, IR (4 Gy) and sunitinib (4 days of 32.5 mg/kg per day) inhibited tumor growth. Ionizing radiation induced tumor cell apoptosis and reduced proliferation, whereas sunitinib decreased tumor angiogenesis and reduced tumor cell proliferation. When IR was applied before sunitinib, this almost completely inhibited tumor growth, whereas concurrent IR was less effective and IR after sunitinib had no additional effect on tumor growth. Moreover, optimal scheduling allowed a 50% dose reduction in sunitinib while maintaining comparable antitumor effects. This study shows that the therapeutic efficacy of combination therapy improves when proper dose-scheduling is applied. More importantly, optimal treatment regimes permit dose reductions in the angiogenesis inhibitor, which will likely reduce the side effects of combination therapy in the clinical setting. Our study provides important leads to optimize combination treatment in the clinical setting

  8. Initial examination of the effects of overtime and shift scheduling on nuclear power plant safety performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, K.; Olson, J.; Montgomery, J.

    1990-01-01

    The research reported here uses currently available data to begin to document overtime and shift scheduling practices in the nuclear industry and assess their safety consequences. Overtime and the 12-hour shift schedule have been found to affect employee fatigue and human error in other industries but neither of these practices have been systematically researched within the nuclear industry. Overtime has long been a standard practice in the nuclear industry and, recently, several licensees have adopted a 12-hour shift schedule for control room operations crews. Although 12-hour shifts have certain benefits for the employer and employee alike (e.g., can require fewer total employees and provide longer periods of time-off) there is some concern that the 12-hour shift may produce greater employee fatigue. Moreover, the 12-hour shift may exacerbate the negative effect of overtime. The potential effect of human error in the nuclear industry for the health and safety of both nuclear power plant workers and the general public requires that these practices be assessed. Data on overtime practices was obtained from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) for plants covered by the bargaining unit - approximately 63% of the total number of operating plants. Information on operator shift schedule was collected from all operating plants in 1987 by the NRC. The research produced fairly strong evidence that greater amounts of overtime worked by operators is associated with a greater number of operational problems

  9. 76 FR 28194 - Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-16

    ... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY... publishing its proposed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update and solicits comments from... on the proposed fee schedule should be mailed or delivered to the Office of the General Counsel...

  10. 75 FR 27228 - Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-14

    ... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY... publishing its proposed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update and solicits comments from... on the proposed fee schedule should be mailed or delivered to the Office of the General Counsel...

  11. A decentralized scheduling algorithm for time synchronized channel hopping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Tinka

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Time Synchronized Channel Hopping (TSCH is an existing Medium Access Control scheme which enables robust communication through channel hopping and high data rates through synchronization. It is based on a time-slotted architecture, and its correct functioning depends on a schedule which is typically computed by a central node. This paper presents, to our knowledge, the first scheduling algorithm for TSCH networks which both is distributed and which copes with mobile nodes. Two variations on scheduling algorithms are presented. Aloha-based scheduling allocates one channel for broadcasting advertisements for new neighbors. Reservation- based scheduling augments Aloha-based scheduling with a dedicated timeslot for targeted advertisements based on gossip information. A mobile ad hoc motorized sensor network with frequent connectivity changes is studied, and the performance of the two proposed algorithms is assessed. This performance analysis uses both simulation results and the results of a field deployment of floating wireless sensors in an estuarial canal environment. Reservation-based scheduling performs significantly better than Aloha-based scheduling, suggesting that the improved network reactivity is worth the increased algorithmic complexity and resource consumption.

  12. Cost Minimization for Joint Energy Management and Production Scheduling Using Particle Swarm Optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Rahul H.

    production planning framework are discussed. A modified Particle Swarm Optimization solution technique is adopted to solve the proposed scheduling problem. The algorithm is described in detail and compared to Genetic Algorithm. Case studies are presented to illustrate the benefits of using the proposed model and the effectiveness of the Particle Swarm Optimization approach. Numerical Experiments are implemented and analyzed to test the effectiveness of the proposed model. The proposed scheduling strategy can achieve savings of around 19 to 27 % in cost per part when compared to the baseline scheduling scenarios. By optimizing key production system parameters from the cost per part model, the baseline scenarios can obtain around 20 to 35 % in savings for the cost per part. These savings further increase by 42 to 55 % when system parameter optimization is integrated with the proposed scheduling problem. Using this method, the most influential parameters on the cost per part are the rated power from production, the production rate, and the initial machine reliabilities. The modified Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm adopted allows greater diversity and exploration compared to Genetic Algorithm for the proposed joint model which results in it being more computationally efficient in determining the optimal scheduling. While Genetic Algorithm could achieve a solution quality of 2,279.63 at an expense of 2,300 seconds in computational effort. In comparison, the proposed Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm achieved a solution quality of 2,167.26 in less than half the computation effort which is required by Genetic Algorithm.

  13. On Coding of Scheduling Information in OFDM

    OpenAIRE

    Gunnarsson, Fredrik; Moosavi, Reza; Eriksson, Jonas; Larsson, Erik G.; Wiberg, Niklas; Frenger, Pål

    2009-01-01

    Control signaling strategies for scheduling information in cellular OFDM systems are studied. A single-cell multiuser system model is formulated that provides system capacity estimates accounting for the signaling overhead. Different scheduling granularities are considered, including the one used in the specifications for the 3G Long Term Evolution (LTE). A greedy scheduling method is assumed, where each resource is assigned to the user for which it can support the highest number of bits. The...

  14. Trustable Virtual Machine Scheduling in a Cloud

    OpenAIRE

    Hermenier , Fabien; Henrio , Ludovic

    2017-01-01

    International audience; In an Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS) cloud, the scheduler deploys VMs to servers according to service level objectives (SLOs). Clients and service providers must both trust the infrastructure. In particular they must be sure that the VM scheduler takes decisions that are consistent with its advertised behaviour. The difficulties to master every theoretical and practical aspects of a VM scheduler implementation leads however to faulty behaviours that break SLOs and ...

  15. Management of Temporal Constraints for Factory Scheduling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-06-01

    consistency of scheduling decisions were implemented in both the ISIS [Fox 84] and SOJA [LePape 85a] scheduling systems. More recent work with the...kinds of time propagation systems: the symbolic and the numeric ones. Symbolic systems combine relationships with a temporal logic a la Allen [Allen 81...maintains consistency by narrowing time windows associated with activities as decisions are made, and SOJA [LePape 85b] guarantees a schedule’s

  16. 7 CFR 305.23 - Steam sterilization treatment schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Steam sterilization treatment schedules. 305.23... Steam sterilization treatment schedules. Treatment schedule Temperature( °F) Pressure Exposure period (minutes) Directions T303-b-1 10 lbs 20 Use 28″ vacuum. Steam sterilization is not practical for treatment...

  17. 77 FR 33980 - Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-08

    ... 1703 Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. ACTION: Notice... the Board's proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update published in the Federal Register of June 1, 2012. The...: The FOIA requires each Federal agency covered by the Act to specify a schedule of fees applicable to...

  18. Residency Applicants Prefer Online System for Scheduling Interviews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wills, Charlotte

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Residency coordinators may be overwhelmed when scheduling residency interviews. Applicants often have to coordinate interviews with multiple programs at once, and relying on verbal or email confirmation may delay the process. Our objective was to determine applicant mean time to schedule and satisfaction using online scheduling. Methods: This pilot study is a retrospective analysis performed on a sample of applicants offered interviews at an urban county emergency medicine residency. Applicants were asked their estimated time to schedule with the online system compared to their average time using other methods. In addition, they were asked on a five-point anchored scale to rate their satisfaction. Results: Of 171 applicants, 121 completed the survey (70.8%. Applicants were scheduling an average of 13.3 interviews. Applicants reported scheduling interviews using the online system in mean of 46.2 minutes (median 10, range 1-1800 from the interview offer as compared with a mean of 320.2 minutes (median 60, range 3-2880 for other programs not using this system. This difference was statistically significant. In addition, applicants were more likely to rate their satisfaction using the online system as “satisfied” (83.5% vs 16.5%. Applicants were also more likely to state that they preferred scheduling their interviews using the online system rather than the way other programs scheduled interviews (74.2% vs 4.1% and that the online system aided them coordinating travel arrangements (52.1% vs 4.1%. Conclusion: An online interview scheduling system is associated with higher satisfaction among applicants both in coordinating travel arrangements and in overall satisfaction. [West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(2:352-354.

  19. Genetic algorithm to solve the problems of lectures and practicums scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syahputra, M. F.; Apriani, R.; Sawaluddin; Abdullah, D.; Albra, W.; Heikal, M.; Abdurrahman, A.; Khaddafi, M.

    2018-02-01

    Generally, the scheduling process is done manually. However, this method has a low accuracy level, along with possibilities that a scheduled process collides with another scheduled process. When doing theory class and practicum timetable scheduling process, there are numerous problems, such as lecturer teaching schedule collision, schedule collision with another schedule, practicum lesson schedules that collides with theory class, and the number of classrooms available. In this research, genetic algorithm is implemented to perform theory class and practicum timetable scheduling process. The algorithm will be used to process the data containing lists of lecturers, courses, and class rooms, obtained from information technology department at University of Sumatera Utara. The result of scheduling process using genetic algorithm is the most optimal timetable that conforms to available time slots, class rooms, courses, and lecturer schedules.

  20. 21 CFR 1308.13 - Schedule III.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Schedule III. 1308.13 Section 1308.13 Food and... opposite it. (b) Stimulants. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any... a stimulant effect on the central nervous sxstem, including its salts, isomers (whether optical...

  1. 29 CFR 825.202 - Intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... leave schedule is a leave schedule that reduces an employee's usual number of working hours per workweek, or hours per workday. A reduced leave schedule is a change in the employee's schedule for a period of... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule. 825.202...

  2. Optimal Temporal Decoupling in Task Scheduling with Preferences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Endhoven, L.; Klos, T.B.; Witteveen, C.

    2011-01-01

    Multi-agent planning and scheduling concerns finding a joint plan to achieve some set of common goals with several independent agents each aiming to find a plan or schedule for their part of the goals. To avoid conflicts in these individual plans or schedules decoupling is used. Such a decoupling

  3. Research on Scheduling Algorithm for Multi-satellite and Point Target Task on Swinging Mode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, M.; Dai, G.; Peng, L.; Song, Z.; Chen, G.

    2012-12-01

    Nowadays, using satellite in space to observe ground is an important and major method to obtain ground information. With the development of the scientific technology in the field of space, many fields such as military and economic and other areas have more and more requirement of space technology because of the benefits of the satellite's widespread, timeliness and unlimited of area and country. And at the same time, because of the wide use of all kinds of satellites, sensors, repeater satellites and ground receiving stations, ground control system are now facing great challenge. Therefore, how to make the best value of satellite resources so as to make full use of them becomes an important problem of ground control system. Satellite scheduling is to distribute the resource to all tasks without conflict to obtain the scheduling result so as to complete as many tasks as possible to meet user's requirement under considering the condition of the requirement of satellites, sensors and ground receiving stations. Considering the size of the task, we can divide tasks into point task and area task. This paper only considers point targets. In this paper, a description of satellite scheduling problem and a chief introduction of the theory of satellite scheduling are firstly made. We also analyze the restriction of resource and task in scheduling satellites. The input and output flow of scheduling process are also chiefly described in the paper. On the basis of these analyses, we put forward a scheduling model named as multi-variable optimization model for multi-satellite and point target task on swinging mode. In the multi-variable optimization model, the scheduling problem is transformed the parametric optimization problem. The parameter we wish to optimize is the swinging angle of every time-window. In the view of the efficiency and accuracy, some important problems relating the satellite scheduling such as the angle relation between satellites and ground targets, positive

  4. Benefits of explosive cutting for nuclear-facility applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazelton, R.F.; Lundgren, R.A.; Allen, R.P.

    1981-06-01

    The study discussed in this report was a cost/benefit analysis to determine: (1) whether explosive cutting is cost effective in comparison with alternative metal sectioning methods and (2) whether explosive cutting would reduce radiation exposure or provide other benefits. Two separate approaches were pursued. The first was to qualitatively assess cutting methods and factors involved in typical sectioning cases and then compare the results for the cutting methods. The second was to prepare estimates of work schedules and potential radiation exposures for candidate sectioning methods for two hypothetical, but typical, sectioning tasks. The analysis shows that explosive cutting would be cost effective and would also reduce radiation exposure when used for typical nuclear facility sectioning tasks. These results indicate that explosive cutting should be one of the principal cutting methods considered whenever steel or similar metal structures or equipment in a nuclear facility are to be sectioned for repair or decommissioning. 13 figures, 7 tables

  5. Designing of Vague Logic Based 2-Layered Framework for CPU Scheduler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Supriya Raheja

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Fuzzy based CPU scheduler has become of great interest by operating system because of its ability to handle imprecise information associated with task. This paper introduces an extension to the fuzzy based round robin scheduler to a Vague Logic Based Round Robin (VBRR scheduler. VBRR scheduler works on 2-layered framework. At the first layer, scheduler has a vague inference system which has the ability to handle the impreciseness of task using vague logic. At the second layer, Vague Logic Based Round Robin (VBRR scheduling algorithm works to schedule the tasks. VBRR scheduler has the learning capability based on which scheduler adapts intelligently an optimum length for time quantum. An optimum time quantum reduces the overhead on scheduler by reducing the unnecessary context switches which lead to improve the overall performance of system. The work is simulated using MATLAB and compared with the conventional round robin scheduler and the other two fuzzy based approaches to CPU scheduler. Given simulation analysis and results prove the effectiveness and efficiency of VBRR scheduler.

  6. Request-Driven Schedule Automation for the Deep Space Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Mark D.; Tran, Daniel; Arroyo, Belinda; Call, Jared; Mercado, Marisol

    2010-01-01

    The DSN Scheduling Engine (DSE) has been developed to increase the level of automated scheduling support available to users of NASA s Deep Space Network (DSN). We have adopted a request-driven approach to DSN scheduling, in contrast to the activity-oriented approach used up to now. Scheduling requests allow users to declaratively specify patterns and conditions on their DSN service allocations, including timing, resource requirements, gaps, overlaps, time linkages among services, repetition, priorities, and a wide range of additional factors and preferences. The DSE incorporates a model of the key constraints and preferences of the DSN scheduling domain, along with algorithms to expand scheduling requests into valid resource allocations, to resolve schedule conflicts, and to repair unsatisfied requests. We use time-bounded systematic search with constraint relaxation to return nearby solutions if exact ones cannot be found, where the relaxation options and order are under user control. To explore the usability aspects of our approach we have developed a graphical user interface incorporating some crucial features to make it easier to work with complex scheduling requests. Among these are: progressive revelation of relevant detail, immediate propagation and visual feedback from a user s decisions, and a meeting calendar metaphor for repeated patterns of requests. Even as a prototype, the DSE has been deployed and adopted as the initial step in building the operational DSN schedule, thus representing an important initial validation of our overall approach. The DSE is a core element of the DSN Service Scheduling Software (S(sup 3)), a web-based collaborative scheduling system now under development for deployment to all DSN users.

  7. PLAN-IT - Scheduling assistant for solar system exploration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dias, W. C.; Henricks, J. A.; Wong, J. C.; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena)

    1987-01-01

    A frame-based expert scheduling system shell, PLAN-IT, is developed for spacecraft scheduling in the Request Integration Phase, using the Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) mission as a development base. Basic, structured, and expert scheduling techniques are reviewed. Data elements such as activity representation and resource conflict representation are discussed. Resource constraints include minimum and maximum separation times between activities, percentage of time pointed at specific targets, and separation time between targeted intervals of a given activity. The different scheduling technique categories and the rationale for their selection are also considered. 13 references

  8. Management Matters. Changing to Flexible Scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappas, Marjorie L.

    2005-01-01

    Elementary school library media specialists state that one of the most frustrating issues they face is the fixed schedules in their library media centers. Beyond the cost effectiveness issue, the fixed schedule severely limits using the resources of the library media center for inquiry learning and collaborative teaching experiences between the…

  9. DME Prosthetics Orthotics, and Supplies Fee Schedule

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics-Orthotics, and Supplies Fee Schedule. The list contains the fee schedule amounts, floors, and ceilings for all procedure codes...

  10. Interactive Anticipatory Scheduling for Two Military Applications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Howe, Adele

    2003-01-01

    ...; these models partially explain what makes some job shop scheduling problems difficult. For the second, several algorithms for Air Force Satellite Control Network scheduling have been compared on historical and recent data...

  11. Escalator: An Autonomous Scheduling Scheme for Convergecast in TSCH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Sukho; Hwang, DongYeop; Kim, Ki-Hyung; Kim, Kangseok

    2018-04-16

    Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) is widely used in the industrial wireless sensor networks due to its high reliability and energy efficiency. Various timeslot and channel scheduling schemes have been proposed for achieving high reliability and energy efficiency for TSCH networks. Recently proposed autonomous scheduling schemes provide flexible timeslot scheduling based on the routing topology, but do not take into account the network traffic and packet forwarding delays. In this paper, we propose an autonomous scheduling scheme for convergecast in TSCH networks with RPL as a routing protocol, named Escalator. Escalator generates a consecutive timeslot schedule along the packet forwarding path to minimize the packet transmission delay. The schedule is generated autonomously by utilizing only the local routing topology information without any additional signaling with other nodes. The generated schedule is guaranteed to be conflict-free, in that all nodes in the network could transmit packets to the sink in every slotframe cycle. We implement Escalator and evaluate its performance with existing autonomous scheduling schemes through a testbed and simulation. Experimental results show that the proposed Escalator has lower end-to-end delay and higher packet delivery ratio compared to the existing schemes regardless of the network topology.

  12. Project Scheduling Based on Risk of Gas Transmission Pipe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvianita; Nurbaity, A.; Mulyadi, Y.; Suntoyo; Chamelia, D. M.

    2018-03-01

    The planning of a project has a time limit on which must be completed before or right at a predetermined time. Thus, in a project planning, it is necessary to have scheduling management that is useful for completing a project to achieve maximum results by considering the constraints that will exists. Scheduling management is undertaken to deal with uncertainties and negative impacts of time and cost in project completion. This paper explains about scheduling management in gas transmission pipeline project Gresik-Semarang to find out which scheduling plan is most effectively used in accordance with its risk value. Scheduling management in this paper is assissted by Microsoft Project software to find the critical path of existing project scheduling planning data. Critical path is the longest scheduling path with the fastest completion time. The result is found a critical path on project scheduling with completion time is 152 days. Furthermore, the calculation of risk is done by using House of Risk (HOR) method and it is found that the critical path has a share of 40.98 percent of all causes of the occurence of risk events that will be experienced.

  13. Parental work schedules and child overweight and obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Champion, S L; Rumbold, A R; Steele, E J; Giles, L C; Davies, M J; Moore, V M

    2012-04-01

    Studies in school-age children have consistently shown a positive association between maternal paid work hours and child obesity. However, there is conflicting evidence about the impact of maternal work hours scheduled at nonstandard times (for example, evenings, nights or weekends), and no previous examination of paternal work schedules and child weight. We examined the associations between maternal, paternal and combined parental paid work schedules and overweight/obesity in children at age 9 years. Data were analysed from the most recent follow-up of 9-year-old children (n=434) in an Australian birth cohort study. Children were measured and classified as overweight/obese using the International Obesity Taskforce body mass index cutoff points. Current working conditions of parents were obtained from a structured interview with the primary caregiver. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the effect of parental work schedules on child overweight/obesity with adjustment for a range of sociodemographic and household factors associated with parental employment and child weight. At 9 years of age, 99 children (22.8%) were overweight or obese. When parental work schedules were examined separately, child overweight/obesity was significantly associated with paternal nonstandard work schedules (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-3.61). There was no association with any type of maternal work schedule. We also found an association between child overweight/obesity and circumstances in which both parents worked nonstandard schedules; however, this was of borderline statistical significance in the adjusted models (adjusted OR 2.26, 95% CI 0.99-5.16). Work hours scheduled at nonstandard times, when worked by the father or both parents, were associated with child overweight and obesity. These findings indicate the potential importance of fathers' paid work arrangements for child overweight/obesity, which until recently has largely

  14. 5 CFR 950.801 - Campaign schedule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Campaign schedule. 950.801 Section 950... VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS CFC Timetable § 950.801 Campaign schedule. (a) The Combined Federal Campaign will be.../International and International parts of the Charity List to all local campaigns by a date to be determined by...

  15. A NEW APPROACH TO CLASS SCHEDULING. FINAL REPORT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    CANTER, JOHN; AND OTHERS

    AN INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF A PROTOTYPE DEVICE FOR CLASS SCHEDULING WAS MADE. THE BEEKLEY INSITE DEVICE THAT WAS STUDIED USES THE "PEEK-A-BOO" PRINCIPLE OF MATCHING COMPUTER TAPES. A TEST GROUP OF 149 GRADUATE STUDENTS WAS USED. THEIR DESIRED SCHEDULES WERE MATCHED AUTOMATICALLY AGAINST A PROPOSED MASTER SCHEDULE TO EVALUATE THE…

  16. Cost effective shift schedules enhance utility operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coleman, R.M.

    1995-01-01

    This article describes how new shift scheduling concepts can save utility operations millions of dollars every year and yet maintain safety and improve employee morale. The key to scheduling is to define and match the work load. This includes discretionary as well as daily, weekly, and yearly core work loads. In most power plants the overall work load (including maintenance, operations, materials handling, etc.) on day shift is greater than on other shifts, hence an unbalanced schedule would be appropriate

  17. Multiple-Machine Scheduling with Learning Effects and Cooperative Games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yiyuan Zhou

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Multiple-machine scheduling problems with position-based learning effects are studied in this paper. There is an initial schedule in this scheduling problem. The optimal schedule minimizes the sum of the weighted completion times; the difference between the initial total weighted completion time and the minimal total weighted completion time is the cost savings. A multiple-machine sequencing game is introduced to allocate the cost savings. The game is balanced if the normal processing times of jobs that are on the same machine are equal and an equal number of jobs are scheduled on each machine initially.

  18. Efficient Academic Scheduling at the U.S. Naval Academy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Zane, David

    2003-01-01

    This research project examined academic scheduling problems at the U.S. Naval Academy. The focus was on devising methods to construct good final exam schedules and improve existing course schedules by facilitation course changes...

  19. Estimating exponential scheduling preferences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjorth, Katrine; Börjesson, Maria; Engelson, Leonid

    Extended abstract Choice of departure time is a travel choice dimension that transportation planners often need to forecast in appraisal. A traveller may shift departure time in response to changes in expected travel time or travel time variability (TTV) or in response to time-differentiated cong......Extended abstract Choice of departure time is a travel choice dimension that transportation planners often need to forecast in appraisal. A traveller may shift departure time in response to changes in expected travel time or travel time variability (TTV) or in response to time...... from the underlying scheduling preferences (Noland and Small, 1995, Bates et al., 2001, Fosgerau and Karlström, 2010). The scheduling preferences can be formally represented as time-dependent rates of utility derived at different locations. Assuming that the travellers are rational and choose departure......’ departure time choice. The assumption underlying the scheduling approach is that the traveller rationally maximises her total utility obtained during a period of time. The total utility depends on time of departure from the origin and time of arrival to the destination. The total utility is usually assumed...

  20. Environmental surveillance master sampling schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bisping, L.E.

    1997-01-01

    Environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)(a) for the US Department of Energy (DOE). This document contains the planned 1997 schedules for routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP) and Drinking Water Monitoring Project. In addition, Section 3.0, Biota, also reflects a rotating collection schedule identifying the year a specific sample is scheduled for collection. The purpose of these monitoring projects is to evaluate levels of radioactive and nonradioactive pollutants in the Hanford environs, as required in DOE Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program, and DOE Order 5400.5, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment. The sampling methods will be the same as those described in the Environmental Monitoring Plan, US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, DOE/RL91-50, Rev. 1, US Department of Energy, Richland, Washington

  1. State Teacher Salary Schedules. Policy Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffith, Michael

    2016-01-01

    In the United States most teacher compensation issues are decided at the school district level. However, a group of states have chosen to play a role in teacher pay decisions by instituting statewide teacher salary schedules. Education Commission of the States has found that 17 states currently make use of teacher salary schedules. This education…

  2. Annual Equivalent Value, Benefit Cost Ratio, and Composite Performance Index as Valuation Appraisal Support of Teakwood Plantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sugiharto Soeleman

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Teak (Tectona grandis L.f is a premium high-value hardwood species being viewed as the most preferred species for investment opportunity. Recently, there has been a gradual move away from state control of teakwood plantation toward the participation of private enterprises. Several enterprises offer investment opportunity of teakwood plantation in which one of the main selling points being offered is a quick harvesting schedule. A quick harvesting time, however, might not provide the best outcome to the investors. This research exercise and compare the valuation appraisal of different harvesting schedules. The research focused on project planning, enterprise budget, financial projection, and valuation measurements to arrive at overall appraisal. To avoid any possible bias of individual investor's preference on common valuation criteria such as total investment, net cash flow (NCF, net present value (NPV, internal rate of return (IRR, profit on investment (P/I, and payback period (PBP, 3 otherS criteria namely benefit cost ratio (BCR, annual equivalent value (AEV, and composite performance index (CPI have been applied to arrive at a more fair valuation. It is concluded that the longer the harvesting schedule, the better valuation outcome could be achieved, and therefore, investors should critically review any investment proposal in accordance to their preference on valuation criteria. Keywords : annual equivalent value, benefit cost ratio, composite performance index, valuation appraisal

  3. Cost-efficient scheduling of FAST observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Qi; Zhao, Laiping; Yu, Ce; Xiao, Jian; Sun, Jizhou; Zhu, Ming; Zhong, Yi

    2018-03-01

    A cost-efficient schedule for the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) requires to maximize the number of observable proposals and the overall scientific priority, and minimize the overall slew-cost generated by telescope shifting, while taking into account the constraints including the astronomical objects visibility, user-defined observable times, avoiding Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). In this contribution, first we solve the problem of maximizing the number of observable proposals and scientific priority by modeling it as a Minimum Cost Maximum Flow (MCMF) problem. The optimal schedule can be found by any MCMF solution algorithm. Then, for minimizing the slew-cost of the generated schedule, we devise a maximally-matchable edges detection-based method to reduce the problem size, and propose a backtracking algorithm to find the perfect matching with minimum slew-cost. Experiments on a real dataset from NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) show that, the proposed scheduler can increase the usage of available times with high scientific priority and reduce the slew-cost significantly in a very short time.

  4. Project schedule and cost estimate report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-03-01

    All cost tables represent obligation dollars, at both a constant FY 1987 level and an estimated escalation level, and are based on the FY 1989 DOE Congressional Budget submittal of December 1987. The cost tables display the total UMTRA Project estimated costs, which include both Federal and state funding. The Total Estimated Cost (TEC) for the UMTRA Project is approximately $992.5 million (in 1987 escalated dollars). Project schedules have been developed that provide for Project completion by September 1994, subject to Congressional approval extending DOE's authorization under Public Law 95-604. The report contains site-specific demographic data, conceptual design assumptions, preliminary cost estimates, and site schedules. A general project overview is also presented, which includes a discussion of the basis for the schedule and cost estimates, contingency assumptions, work breakdown structure, and potential project risks. The schedules and cost estimates will be revised as necessary to reflect appropriate decisions relating to relocation of certain tailings piles, or other special design considerations or circumstances (such as revised EPA groundwater standards), and changes in the Project mission. 27 figs', 97 tabs

  5. Schedulability of Herschel revisited using statistical model checking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    David, Alexandre; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand; Legay, Axel

    2015-01-01

    -approximation technique. We can safely conclude that the system is schedulable for varying values of BCET. For the cases where deadlines are violated, we use polyhedra to try to confirm the witnesses. Our alternative method to confirm non-schedulability uses statistical model-checking (SMC) to generate counter...... and blocking times of tasks. Consequently, the method may falsely declare deadline violations that will never occur during execution. This paper is a continuation of previous work of the authors in applying extended timed automata model checking (using the tool UPPAAL) to obtain more exact schedulability...... analysis, here in the presence of non-deterministic computation times of tasks given by intervals [BCET,WCET]. Computation intervals with preemptive schedulers make the schedulability analysis of the resulting task model undecidable. Our contribution is to propose a combination of model checking techniques...

  6. Optimal Reoperation of Multi-Reservoirs for Integrated Watershed Management with Multiple Benefits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinyi Xu

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Constructing reservoirs can make more efficient use of water resources for human society. However, the negative impacts of these projects on the environment are often ignored. Optimal reoperation of reservoirs, which considers not only in socio-economic values but also environmental benefits, is increasingly important. A model of optimal reoperation of multi-reservoirs for integrated watershed management with multiple benefits was proposed to alleviate the conflict between water use and environmental deterioration. The social, economic, water quality and ecological benefits were respectively taken into account as the scheduling objectives and quantified according to economic models. River minimum ecological flows and reservoir water levels based on flood control were taken as key constraint conditions. Feasible search discrete differential dynamic programming (FS-DDDP was used to run the model. The proposed model was used in the upstream of the Nanpan River, to quantitatively evaluate the difference between optimal reoperation and routine operation. The results indicated that the reoperation could significantly increase the water quality benefit and have a minor effect on the benefits of power generation and irrigation under different hydrological years. The model can be readily adapted to other multi-reservoir systems for water resources management.

  7. The Synthesis of a Hardware Scheduler for Non-Manifest Loops

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mansour, O.; Molenkamp, Egbert; Krol, Th.

    This paper addresses the hardware implementation of a dynamic scheduler for non-manifest data dependent periodic loops. Static scheduling techniques which are known to give near optimal scheduling-solutions for manifest loops, fail at scheduling non-manifest loops, since they lack the run time

  8. 76 FR 33015 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-07

    ... regardless of the contra-party (``Nickel Rebate''). The contra-party restriction is being removed. The... to participate in a specific market segment by providing exposure to one or more identifiable... expanding the opportunity to earn a rebate. The Exchange believes that offering the Nickel Rebate on all...

  9. Nebraska | Midmarket Solar Policies in the United States | Solar Research |

    Science.gov (United States)

    utility for equipment or services required for interconnection are funded by customer-generators, however generators in the residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors placed into service on or Rebate Rebate of $375/kW-DC of solar nameplate capacity for southern-facing fixed systems Rebate of $475

  10. Environmental benefits of distributed generation with and without emissions trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsikalakis, A.G.; Hatziargyriou, N.D.

    2007-01-01

    The need for improving energy efficiency and reducing CO 2 emissions and other pollutants, as well as the restructuring of energy markets has favoured the increase of distributed energy resources (DER). The co-ordinated control of these sources comprising renewable energy sources (RES) and distributed generators (DG) characterised by higher efficiencies and lower emissions compared to central thermal generation, when based on coal or oil provide several environmental benefits. These benefits can be quantified based on DER participation in the CO 2 emission trading market. This paper provides a method to calculate emissions savings achieved by the marginal operation of DER in liberalised market conditions using available emissions data. The participation of DER in emissions trading markets is also studied, with respect to profits, pollutants decrease and change in operating schedules. It is shown that the operation of DER can significantly reduce pollutants, provided sufficient remuneration from CO 2 emission trading market participation is provided. Moreover, it is shown that using average emissions values to calculate the environmental benefits of DER might provide misleading results. (author)

  11. Multiresource allocation and scheduling for periodic soft real-time applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopalan, Kartik; Chiueh, Tzi-cker

    2001-12-01

    Real-time applications that utilize multiple system resources, such as CPU, disks, and network links, require coordinated scheduling of these resources in order to meet their end-to-end performance requirements. Most state-of-the-art operating systems support independent resource allocation and deadline-driven scheduling but lack coordination among multiple heterogeneous resources. This paper describes the design and implementation of an Integrated Real-time Resource Scheduler (IRS) that performs coordinated allocation and scheduling of multiple heterogeneous resources on the same machine for periodic soft real-time application. The principal feature of IRS is a heuristic multi-resource allocation algorithm that reserves multiple resources for real-time applications in a manner that can maximize the number of applications admitted into the system in the long run. At run-time, a global scheduler dispatches the tasks of the soft real-time application to individual resource schedulers according to the precedence constraints between tasks. The individual resource schedulers, which could be any deadline based schedulers, can make scheduling decisions locally and yet collectively satisfy a real-time application's performance requirements. The tightness of overall timing guarantees is ultimately determined by the properties of individual resource schedulers. However, IRS maximizes overall system resource utilization efficiency by coordinating deadline assignment across multiple tasks in a soft real-time application.

  12. Escalator: An Autonomous Scheduling Scheme for Convergecast in TSCH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukho Oh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH is widely used in the industrial wireless sensor networks due to its high reliability and energy efficiency. Various timeslot and channel scheduling schemes have been proposed for achieving high reliability and energy efficiency for TSCH networks. Recently proposed autonomous scheduling schemes provide flexible timeslot scheduling based on the routing topology, but do not take into account the network traffic and packet forwarding delays. In this paper, we propose an autonomous scheduling scheme for convergecast in TSCH networks with RPL as a routing protocol, named Escalator. Escalator generates a consecutive timeslot schedule along the packet forwarding path to minimize the packet transmission delay. The schedule is generated autonomously by utilizing only the local routing topology information without any additional signaling with other nodes. The generated schedule is guaranteed to be conflict-free, in that all nodes in the network could transmit packets to the sink in every slotframe cycle. We implement Escalator and evaluate its performance with existing autonomous scheduling schemes through a testbed and simulation. Experimental results show that the proposed Escalator has lower end-to-end delay and higher packet delivery ratio compared to the existing schemes regardless of the network topology.

  13. Scheduled meals and scheduled palatable snacks synchronize circadian rhythms: consequences for ingestive behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, Carolina; Salgado, Roberto; Rodriguez, Katia; Blancas Vázquez, Aurea Susana; Angeles-Castellanos, Manuel; Buijs, Ruud M

    2011-09-26

    Food is a potent time signal for the circadian system and has shown to entrain and override temporal signals transmitted by the biological clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which adjusts mainly to the daily light/dark (LD) alternation. Organisms mostly ingest food in their active period and this permits a correct coordination between the LD and the food elicited time signals with the circadian system. Under conditions when feeding opportunities are shifted to the usual resting/sleep phase, the potent entraining force of food, shifts circadian fluctuations in several tissues, organs, and brain structures toward meal time, resulting a desynchrony within the body and between the organism and the external LD cycle. The daily scheduled access to a palatable snack exerts similar changes specifically to brain areas involved in motivation and reward responses. This review describes the phenomenology of food entrainment and entrainment by a palatable snack. It suggests how scheduled feeding can lead to food addiction and how shifted feeding schedules toward the sleep phase can result in altered ingestive behavior, obesity and disturbed metabolic responses. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Distributed Research Project Scheduling Based on Multi-Agent Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constanta Nicoleta Bodea

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Different project planning and scheduling approaches have been developed. The Operational Research (OR provides two major planning techniques: CPM (Critical Path Method and PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique. Due to projects complexity and difficulty to use classical methods, new approaches were developed. Artificial Intelligence (AI initially promoted the automatic planner concept, but model-based planning and scheduling methods emerged later on. The paper adresses the project scheduling optimization problem, when projects are seen as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS. Taken into consideration two different approaches for project scheduling optimization: TCPSP (Time- Constrained Project Scheduling and RCPSP (Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling, the paper focuses on a multiagent implementation in MATLAB for TCSP. Using the research project as a case study, the paper includes a comparison between two multi-agent methods: Genetic Algorithm (GA and Ant Colony Algorithm (ACO.

  15. Construction schedules slack time minimizing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krzemiński, Michał

    2017-07-01

    The article presents two copyright models for minimizing downtime working brigades. Models have been developed for construction schedules performed using the method of work uniform. Application of flow shop models is possible and useful for the implementation of large objects, which can be divided into plots. The article also presents a condition describing gives which model should be used, as well as a brief example of optimization schedule. The optimization results confirm the legitimacy of the work on the newly-developed models.

  16. Efficient Load Scheduling Method For Power Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijo M Joy

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available An efficient load scheduling method to meet varying power supply needs is presented in this paper. At peak load times the power generation system fails due to its instability. Traditionally we use load shedding process. In load shedding process disconnect the unnecessary and extra loads. The proposed method overcomes this problem by scheduling the load based on the requirement. Artificial neural networks are used for this optimal load scheduling process. For generate economic scheduling artificial neural network has been used because generation of power from each source is economically different. In this the total load required is the inputs of this network and the power generation from each source and power losses at the time of transmission are the output of the neural network. Training and programming of the artificial neural networks are done using MATLAB.

  17. Courts, Scheduled Damages, and Medical Malpractice Insurance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bertoli, Paola; Grembi, Veronica

    We assess the impact of the introduction of schedules of non-economic damages (i.e. tiered caps systems) on the behavior of insurers operating in the medical liability market for hospitals while controlling the performance of the judicial system, measured as court backlog. Using a difference......-in-differences strategy on Italian data, we find that the introduction of schedules increases the presence of insurers (i.e. medical liability market attractiveness) only in inefficient judicial districts. In the same way, court inefficiency is attractive to insurers for average values of schedules penetration...... of the market, with an increasing positive impact of inefficiency as the territorial coverage of schedules increases. Finally, no significant impact is registered on paid premiums. Our analysis sheds light on a complex set of elements affecting the decisions of insurers in malpractice markets. The analysis...

  18. Environmental monitoring master sampling schedule: January--December 1989

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bisping, L.E.

    1989-01-01

    Environmental monitoring of the Hanford Site is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy (DOE). This document contains the planned schedule for routine sample collection for calendar year 1989 for the Surface and Ground-Water Environmental Monitoring Projects. This schedule is subject to modification during the year in response to changes in Site operations, program requirements, and the nature of the observed results. Operational limitations such as weather, mechanical failures, sample availability, etc., may also require schedule modifications. Changes will be documented in the respective project files, but this plan will not be reissued. This schedule includes routine ground-water sampling performed by PNL for Westinghouse Hanford Company, but does not include samples that may be collected in 1989 to support special studies or special contractor projects, or for quality control. The sampling schedule for Site-wide chemical monitoring is not included here, because it varies each quarter as needed, based on past results and operating needs. This schedule does not include Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ground-water sampling performed by PNL for Hanford Site contractors, nor does it include sampling that may be done by other DOE Hanford contractors

  19. Patients' and clinicians' views on the optimum schedules for self-monitoring of blood pressure: a qualitative focus group and interview study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Sabrina; Hodgkinson, James A; Milner, Siobhan L; Martin, Una; Tompson, Alice; Hobbs, Fd Richard; Mant, Jonathan; McManus, Richard J; Greenfield, Sheila M

    2016-11-01

    Self-monitoring of blood pressure is common but guidance on how it should be carried out varies and it is currently unclear how such guidance is viewed. To explore patients' and healthcare professionals' (HCPs) views and experiences of the use of different self-monitoring regimens to determine what is acceptable and feasible, and to inform future recommendations. Thirteen focus groups and four HCP interviews were held, with a total of 66 participants (41 patients and 25 HCPs) from primary and secondary care with and without experience of self-monitoring. Standard and shortened self-monitoring protocols were both considered. Focus groups and interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using the constant comparative method. Patients generally supported structured schedules but with sufficient flexibility to allow adaptation to individual routine. They preferred a shorter (3-day) schedule to longer (7-day) regimens. Although HCPs could describe benefits for patients of using a schedule, they were reluctant to recommend a specific schedule. Concerns surrounded the use of different schedules for diagnosis and subsequent monitoring. Appropriate education was seen as vital by all participants to enable a self-monitoring schedule to be followed at home. There is not a 'one size fits all approach' to developing the optimum protocol from the perspective of users and those implementing it. An approach whereby patients are asked to complete the minimum number of readings required for accurate blood pressure estimation in a flexible manner seems most likely to succeed. Informative advice and guidance should incorporate such flexibility for patients and professionals alike. © British Journal of General Practice 2016.

  20. Evaluation of a twelve-hour/day shift schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, P.M.; Swaim, D.J.

    1986-01-01

    In April 1985, the operating crews at the Fast Flux Test Facility near Richland, Washington, changed their rotating shift schedule from an 8-hour to a 12-hour a day work schedule. The primary purpose of the change was to reduce the attrition of operators by increasing their job satisfaction. Eighty-four percent of the operators favored the change. A program was established to evaluate the effects on plant performance, operator alertness, attrition, sleep, health, job satisfaction, and off-the-job satisfaction. Preliminary results from that evaluation program indicate that the 12-hour shift schedule is a reasonable alternative to an 8-hour schedule at this facility

  1. 77 FR 15436 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-15

    ... Liaison (``HAL'') Step-Up Rebate to $0.10 per contract. The HAL system allows CBOE Market-Makers to step...''). The HAL Step-Up Rebate is the rebate a Market- Maker receives per each contract against transaction fees generated from a transaction on the HAL system in a [[Page 15437

  2. 76 FR 64147 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-17

    ... products, but different platforms may choose from a range of possible, and equally reasonable, pricing strategies as the means of recovering total costs. For example, some platform may choose to pay rebates to... strategy of paying lower rebates (or no rebates) to attract orders, setting relatively high prices for...

  3. 77 FR 3308 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-23

    ... Rule Change Relating to Fees and Rebates for Adding and Removing Liquidity January 18, 2012. Pursuant... transaction fees and rebates for adding and removing liquidity. The text of the proposed rule change is... and rebates to market participants that add or remove liquidity from the Exchange (``maker/taker fees...

  4. Post Danmark II, Now Concluded by the ECJ

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundqvist, Björn

    2016-01-01

    the competition law doctrine for rebates unchanged and, more specifically, made it obvious that the ECJ does not support a general exclusive as-efficient-competitor test in the rebate abuse arena. However, the article continues and concludes that by clinging on to the competition law doctrine regarding rebate...

  5. PLACEMENT APPLICATIONS SCHEDULING LECTURE IN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM UNIKOM BASED ANDROID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andri Sahata Sitanggang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available One who determines life of a classroom namely mapping scheduling courses especially at college. The process scheduling has included time or schedule of a class of available, room available, lecture who is scheduled for, and schedule for lecturer going to teach. Hopefully with a scheduling it will facilitate the students and teachers in obtaining information lecture schedule. With the emergence of the android application ( is implanted in mobile phones , the public can now use the internet so fast that is based .So with that researchers give one a technology based solutions to build android application .This is because one of the technology has given the functions which may make it easier for students and university lecturers in terms of access to information. In building this application used method of the prototype consisting 2 access namely access user and admin , where module user consisting of modules register , login , scheduling module , while for admin given module login , register and arrangement information scheduling courses both the administration and lecturers .Application made will be integrated with internet so that this program is real-time application.

  6. ALGORITHMIC CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES IN CONDITIONS OF TIMING CONSTRAINTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexey S. Dobrynin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Tasks of time-schedule construction (JSSP in various fields of human activities have an important theoretical and practical significance. The main feature of these tasks is a timing requirement, describing allowed planning time periods and periods of downtime. This article describes implementation variations of the work scheduling algorithm under timing requirements for the tasks of industrial time-schedules construction, and service activities.

  7. Tail-robust scheduling using Limited Processor Sharing.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nair, J.K.; Wierman, A.; Zwart, A.P.

    2010-01-01

    From a rare events perspective, scheduling disciplines that work well under light (exponential) tailed workload distributions do not perform well under heavy (power) tailed workload distributions, and vice versa, leading to fundamental problems in designing schedulers that are robust to

  8. The application of artificial intelligence to astronomical scheduling problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Mark D.

    1992-01-01

    Efficient utilization of expensive space- and ground-based observatories is an important goal for the astronomical community; the cost of modern observing facilities is enormous, and the available observing time is much less than the demand from astronomers around the world. The complexity and variety of scheduling constraints and goals has led several groups to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) techniques might help solve these kinds of problems. The earliest and most successful of these projects was started at Space Telescope Science Institute in 1987 and has led to the development of the Spike scheduling system to support the scheduling of Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The aim of Spike at STScI is to allocate observations to timescales of days to a week observing all scheduling constraints and maximizing preferences that help ensure that observations are made at optimal times. Spike has been in use operationally for HST since shortly after the observatory was launched in Apr. 1990. Although developed specifically for HST scheduling, Spike was carefully designed to provide a general framework for similar (activity-based) scheduling problems. In particular, the tasks to be scheduled are defined in the system in general terms, and no assumptions about the scheduling timescale are built in. The mechanisms for describing, combining, and propagating temporal and other constraints and preferences are quite general. The success of this approach has been demonstrated by the application of Spike to the scheduling of other satellite observatories: changes to the system are required only in the specific constraints that apply, and not in the framework itself. In particular, the Spike framework is sufficiently flexible to handle both long-term and short-term scheduling, on timescales of years down to minutes or less. This talk will discuss recent progress made in scheduling search techniques, the lessons learned from early HST operations, the application of Spike

  9. Location-based Scheduling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersson, Niclas; Christensen, Knud

    on the market. However, CPM is primarily an activity based method that takes the activity as the unit of focus and there is criticism raised, specifically in the case of construction projects, on the method for deficient management of construction work and continuous flow of resources. To seek solutions...... to the identified limitations of the CPM method, an alternative planning and scheduling methodology that includes locations is tested. Location-based Scheduling (LBS) implies a shift in focus, from primarily the activities to the flow of work through the various locations of the project, i.e. the building. LBS uses...... the graphical presentation technique of Line-of-balance, which is adapted for planning and management of work-flows that facilitates resources to perform their work without interruptions caused by other resources working with other activities in the same location. As such, LBS and Lean Construction share...

  10. Financial incentives to promote renewable energy systems in European electricity markets: a survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haas, R.; Huber, C.; Wohlgemuth, N.

    2001-01-01

    Renewable energy systems may contribute to sustainable development. Therefore, one of the challenges for energy policy is to ensure that renewable energy options have a fair opportunity to compete with other supply resources. This paper presents a survey on promotion mechanisms to enhance the market penetration of renewable energies in European electricity markets. Strategies include rebates and tax incentives, regulated rates, system benefit charges, bidding-oriented mechanisms and various types of green pricing programs. The paper concludes that efficient promotion mechanisms should focus on incentives per kWh generated rather than on rebates on the investment in generating capacity (kW), and that there is no one single program type which has the best application to the promotion of all renewable technologies. For example, enhanced buy-back rates work as a dissemination strategy for wind energy but they do not work for photovoltaics. (author)

  11. Simultaneous planning of the project scheduling and material procurement problem under the presence of multiple suppliers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabrizi, Babak H.; Ghaderi, Seyed Farid

    2016-09-01

    Simultaneous planning of project scheduling and material procurement can improve the project execution costs. Hence, the issue has been addressed here by a mixed-integer programming model. The proposed model facilitates the procurement decisions by accounting for a number of suppliers offering a distinctive discount formula from which to purchase the required materials. It is aimed at developing schedules with the best net present value regarding the obtained benefit and costs of the project execution. A genetic algorithm is applied to deal with the problem, in addition to a modified version equipped with a variable neighbourhood search. The underlying factors of the solution methods are calibrated by the Taguchi method to obtain robust solutions. The performance of the aforementioned methods is compared for different problem sizes, in which the utilized local search proved efficient. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to check the effect of inflation on the objective function value.

  12. Designing a fuzzy scheduler for hard real-time systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yen, John; Lee, Jonathan; Pfluger, Nathan; Natarajan, Swami

    1992-01-01

    In hard real-time systems, tasks have to be performed not only correctly, but also in a timely fashion. If timing constraints are not met, there might be severe consequences. Task scheduling is the most important problem in designing a hard real-time system, because the scheduling algorithm ensures that tasks meet their deadlines. However, the inherent nature of uncertainty in dynamic hard real-time systems increases the problems inherent in scheduling. In an effort to alleviate these problems, we have developed a fuzzy scheduler to facilitate searching for a feasible schedule. A set of fuzzy rules are proposed to guide the search. The situation we are trying to address is the performance of the system when no feasible solution can be found, and therefore, certain tasks will not be executed. We wish to limit the number of important tasks that are not scheduled.

  13. The Costs and Benefits of Compliance with Renewable Portfolio Standards: Reviewing Experience to Date

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heeter, Jenny; Barbose, Galen; Bird, Lori; Weaver, Samantha; Flores, Francisco; Kuskova-Burns, Ksenia; Wiser, Ryan

    2014-03-12

    More than half of U.S. states have renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in place and have collectively deployed approximately 46,000 MW of new renewable energy capacity through year-end 2012. Most of these policies have five or more years of implementation experience, enabling an assessment of their costs and benefits. Understanding RPS benefits and costs is essential for policymakers evaluating existing RPS policies, assessing the need for modifications, and considering new policies. A key aspect of this study is the comprehensive review of existing RPS cost and benefit estimates, in addition to an examination of the variety of methods used to calculate such estimates. Based on available data and estimates reported by utilities and regulators, this study summarizes RPS costs to date. The study considers how those costs may evolve going forward, given scheduled increases in RPS targets and cost containment mechanisms incorporated into existing policies. The report also summarizes RPS benefits estimates, based on published studies for individual states, and discusses key methodological considerations.

  14. User interface issues in supporting human-computer integrated scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Lynne P.; Biefeld, Eric W.

    1991-01-01

    The topics are presented in view graph form and include the following: characteristics of Operations Mission Planner (OMP) schedule domain; OMP architecture; definition of a schedule; user interface dimensions; functional distribution; types of users; interpreting user interaction; dynamic overlays; reactive scheduling; and transitioning the interface.

  15. Some extensions of the discrete lotsizing and scheduling problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Salomon (Marc); L.G. Kroon (Leo); R. Kuik (Roelof); L.N. van Wassenhove (Luk)

    1991-01-01

    textabstractIn this paper the Discrete Lotsizing and Scheduling Problem (DLSP) is considered. DLSP relates to capacitated lotsizing as well as to job scheduling problems and is concerned with determining a feasible production schedule with minimal total costs in a single-stage manufacturing process.

  16. Discontinuous Schedule of Bevacizumab in Colorectal Cancer Induces Accelerated Tumor Growth and Phenotypic Changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selma Becherirat

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Antiangiogenics administration in colorectal cancer patients seemed promising therapeutic approach. Inspite of early encouraging results, it however gave only modest clinical benefits. When AAG was administered with discontinuous schedule, the disease showed acceleration in certain cases. Though resistance to AAG has been extensively studied, it is not documented for discontinuous schedules. To simulate clinical situations, we subjected a patient-derived CRC subcutaneous xenograft in mice to three different protocols: 1 AAG (bevacizumab treatment for 30 days (group A (group B was the control, 2 bevacizumab treatment for 50 days (group C and bevacizumab for 30 days and 20 without treatment (group D, and 3 bevacizumab treatment for 70 days (group E and 70 days treatment with a drug-break period between day 30 and 50 (group F. The tumor growth was monitored, and at sacrifice, the vascularity of tumors was measured and the proangiogenic factors quantified. Tumor phenotype was studied by quantifying cancer stem cells. Interrupting bevacizumab during treatment accelerated tumor growth and revascularization. A significant increase of proangiogenic factors was observed when therapy was stopped. On withdrawal of bevacizumab, as also after the drug-break period, the plasmatic VEGF increased significantly. Similarly, a notable increase of CSCs after the withdrawal and drug-break period of bevacizumab was observed (P<.01. The present study indicates that bevacizumab treatment needs to be maintained because discontinuous schedules tend to trigger tumor regrowth, and increase tumor resistance and CSC heterogeneity.

  17. Microcomputer-based workforce scheduling for hospital porters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, C K

    1999-01-01

    This paper focuses on labour scheduling for hospital porters who are the major workforce providing routine cleansing of wards, transportation and messenger services. Generating an equitable monthly roster for porters while meeting the daily minimum demand is a tedious task scheduled manually by a supervisor. In considering a variety of constraints and goals, a manual schedule was usually produced in seven to ten days. To be in line with the strategic goal of scientific management of an acute care regional hospital in Hong Kong, a microcomputer-based algorithm was developed to schedule the monthly roster. The algorithm, coded in Digital Visual Fortran 5.0 Professional, could generate a monthly roster in seconds. Implementation has been carried out since September 1998 and the results proved to be useful to hospital administrators and porters. This paper discusses both the technical and human issues involved during the computerization process.

  18. Game analysis and benefit allocation in international projects among owner, supervisor and contractor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Hao; Wang, Yong; Guo, Sini; Xu, Xiaofeng; Che, Cheng

    2016-04-01

    International projects are different from general domestic ones. In order to analyse the differences, a tripartite game model is built up to describe the relationship among owner, supervisor and general contractor, and some measures are given for the owner to more effectively complete the project. In addition, a project schedule selection model is formulated and a new benefit allocation method is proposed by introducing a new modified Shapley value with weighted factor.

  19. Car painting process scheduling with harmony search algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syahputra, M. F.; Maiyasya, A.; Purnamawati, S.; Abdullah, D.; Albra, W.; Heikal, M.; Abdurrahman, A.; Khaddafi, M.

    2018-02-01

    Automotive painting program in the process of painting the car body by using robot power, making efficiency in the production system. Production system will be more efficient if pay attention to scheduling of car order which will be done by considering painting body shape of car. Flow shop scheduling is a scheduling model in which the job-job to be processed entirely flows in the same product direction / path. Scheduling problems often arise if there are n jobs to be processed on the machine, which must be specified which must be done first and how to allocate jobs on the machine to obtain a scheduled production process. Harmony Search Algorithm is a metaheuristic optimization algorithm based on music. The algorithm is inspired by observations that lead to music in search of perfect harmony. This musical harmony is in line to find optimal in the optimization process. Based on the tests that have been done, obtained the optimal car sequence with minimum makespan value.

  20. 77 FR 2579 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-18

    ... Exchange believes that offering a tiered rebate, as compared to a flat rate, is reasonable because the Exchange is paying a rebate on every contract, similar to the flat rate, and the Exchange is also... this competitive marketplace impacts the rebates and fees present on the Exchange today and influences...

  1. 78 FR 58359 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Topaz Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-23

    ... Exchange, therefore, opted to provide a higher introductory rate for Maker Rebates in order to attract... rate of fees and rebates the Exchange currently provides for trading in Standard Options. The Exchange... order flow to another exchange if they deem rebates at a particular exchange to be too low. For the...

  2. Peer-to-peer Cooperative Scheduling Architecture for National Grid Infrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matyska, Ludek; Ruda, Miroslav; Toth, Simon

    For some ten years, the Czech National Grid Infrastructure MetaCentrum uses a single central PBSPro installation to schedule jobs across the country. This centralized approach keeps a full track about all the clusters, providing support for jobs spanning several sites, implementation for the fair-share policy and better overall control of the grid environment. Despite a steady progress in the increased stability and resilience to intermittent very short network failures, growing number of sites and processors makes this architecture, with a single point of failure and scalability limits, obsolete. As a result, a new scheduling architecture is proposed, which relies on higher autonomy of clusters. It is based on a peer to peer network of semi-independent schedulers for each site or even cluster. Each scheduler accepts jobs for the whole infrastructure, cooperating with other schedulers on implementation of global policies like central job accounting, fair-share, or submission of jobs across several sites. The scheduling system is integrated with the Magrathea system to support scheduling of virtual clusters, including the setup of their internal network, again eventually spanning several sites. On the other hand, each scheduler is local to one of several clusters and is able to directly control and submit jobs to them even if the connection of other scheduling peers is lost. In parallel to the change of the overall architecture, the scheduling system itself is being replaced. Instead of PBSPro, chosen originally for its declared support of large scale distributed environment, the new scheduling architecture is based on the open-source Torque system. The implementation and support for the most desired properties in PBSPro and Torque are discussed and the necessary modifications to Torque to support the MetaCentrum scheduling architecture are presented, too.

  3. Dynamic Scheduling for Cloud Reliability using Transportation Problem

    OpenAIRE

    P. Balasubramanie; S. K. Senthil Kumar

    2012-01-01

    Problem statement: Cloud is purely a dynamic environment and the existing task scheduling algorithms are mostly static and considered various parameters like time, cost, make span, speed, scalability, throughput, resource utilization, scheduling success rate and so on. Available scheduling algorithms are mostly heuristic in nature and more complex, time consuming and does not consider reliability and availability of the cloud computing environment. Therefore there is a need to implement a sch...

  4. Impact of modules on the ACR construction schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choy, Ed; Elgohary, Medhat; Fairclough, Neville; Yu, Stephen; Murayama, Kouichi; Miura, Jun; Kawahata, Junichi

    2003-01-01

    The ACR (Advanced CANDU Reactor), developed by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL), is designed with constructability considerations as a major requirement during all project phases from the concept design stage to the detail design stage. For ACR-700, a project schedule of 48 months has been developed for the nth replicated unit with a 36 month construction period duration from First Concrete to Fuel Load. AECL, recognizing the immense benefit of collective experience, is partnering with Hitachi Ltd in the development of the ACR power plant design. AECL has gained valuable experience in implementing new construction methods at the Qinshan (Phase III) twin unit CANDU 6 plant in China, and Hitachi likewise has enjoyed success in modular construction of ABWRs in Japan. Utilizing these experiences, AECL is developing the ACR nuclear steam plant (NSP) and Hitachi is developing the Turbine Building. An overall construction strategy, which builds on the success of these construction methods from the nuclear power plant developments in China and Japan, has been developed for the ACR. The overall construction strategy comprises the 'Open Top' construction technique using a Very Heavy Lift crane, parallel construction activities, with extensive modularization and prefabrication. Modules and prefabrications are major features of the ACR design, resulting in an excess of 80% of Reactor Building internal work being completed as modules or as very streamlined traditional construction. This paper reviews the ACR construction strategy and provides examples of modules and how they impact on the ACR construction schedule. In conclusion, the ACR-700 is designed using the latest, proven construction methods to achieve a 36 month construction period for the nth replicated unit. (author)

  5. Optimal Algorithms and a PTAS for Cost-Aware Scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    L. Chen; N. Megow; R. Rischke; L. Stougie (Leen); J. Verschae

    2015-01-01

    htmlabstractWe consider a natural generalization of classical scheduling problems in which using a time unit for processing a job causes some time-dependent cost which must be paid in addition to the standard scheduling cost. We study the scheduling objectives of minimizing the makespan and the

  6. 5 CFR 532.513 - Flexible and compressed work schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flexible and compressed work schedules... REGULATIONS PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS Premium Pay and Differentials § 532.513 Flexible and compressed work schedules. Federal Wage System employees who are authorized to work flexible and compressed work schedules...

  7. Distributing Flexibility to Enhance Robustness in Task Scheduling Problems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wilmer, D.; Klos, T.B.; Wilson, M.

    2013-01-01

    Temporal scheduling problems occur naturally in many diverse application domains such as manufacturing, transportation, health and education. A scheduling problem arises if we have a set of temporal events (or variables) and some constraints on those events, and we have to find a schedule, which is

  8. ESSOPE: Towards S/C operations with reactive schedule planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheadon, J.

    1993-01-01

    The ESSOPE is a prototype front-end tool running on a Sun workstation and interfacing to ESOC's MSSS spacecraft control system for the exchange of telecommand requests (to MSSS) and telemetry reports (from MSSS). ESSOPE combines an operations Planner-Scheduler, with a Schedule Execution Control function. Using an internal 'model' of the spacecraft, the Planner generates a schedule based on utilization requests for a variety of payload services by a community of Olympus users, and incorporating certain housekeeping operations. Conflicts based on operational constraints are automatically resolved, by employing one of several available strategies. The schedule is passed to the execution function which drives MSSS to perform it. When the schedule can no longer be met, either because the operator interferes (by delays or changes of requirements), or because ESSOPE has recognized some spacecraft anomalies, the Planner produces a modified schedule maintaining the on-going procedures as far as consistent with the new constraints or requirements.

  9. Improved Scheduling Mechanisms for Synchronous Information and Energy Transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Danyang; Yang, Songxiang; Zhang, Yan; Ma, Jingya; Ding, Qun

    2017-06-09

    Wireless energy collecting technology can effectively reduce the network time overhead and prolong the wireless sensor network (WSN) lifetime. However, the traditional energy collecting technology cannot achieve the balance between ergodic channel capacity and average collected energy. In order to solve the problem of the network transmission efficiency and the limited energy of wireless devices, three improved scheduling mechanisms are proposed: improved signal noise ratio (SNR) scheduling mechanism (IS2M), improved N-SNR scheduling mechanism (INS2M) and an improved Equal Throughput scheduling mechanism (IETSM) for different channel conditions to improve the whole network performance. Meanwhile, the average collected energy of single users and the ergodic channel capacity of three scheduling mechanisms can be obtained through the order statistical theory in Rayleig, Ricean, Nakagami- m and Weibull fading channels. It is concluded that the proposed scheduling mechanisms can achieve better balance between energy collection and data transmission, so as to provide a new solution to realize synchronous information and energy transmission for WSNs.

  10. Integrated network design and scheduling problems :

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nurre, Sarah G.; Carlson, Jeffrey J.

    2014-01-01

    We consider the class of integrated network design and scheduling problems. These problems focus on selecting and scheduling operations that will change the characteristics of a network, while being speci cally concerned with the performance of the network over time. Motivating applications of INDS problems include infrastructure restoration after extreme events and building humanitarian distribution supply chains. While similar models have been proposed, no one has performed an extensive review of INDS problems from their complexity, network and scheduling characteristics, information, and solution methods. We examine INDS problems under a parallel identical machine scheduling environment where the performance of the network is evaluated by solving classic network optimization problems. We classify that all considered INDS problems as NP-Hard and propose a novel heuristic dispatching rule algorithm that selects and schedules sets of arcs based on their interactions in the network. We present computational analysis based on realistic data sets representing the infrastructures of coastal New Hanover County, North Carolina, lower Manhattan, New York, and a realistic arti cial community CLARC County. These tests demonstrate the importance of a dispatching rule to arrive at near-optimal solutions during real-time decision making activities. We extend INDS problems to incorporate release dates which represent the earliest an operation can be performed and exible release dates through the introduction of specialized machine(s) that can perform work to move the release date earlier in time. An online optimization setting is explored where the release date of a component is not known.

  11. Heuristic Approach for Balancing Shift Schedules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dae Ho; Yun, Young Su; Lee, Yong Hee

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, a heuristic approach for balancing shift schedules is proposed. For the shift schedules, various constraints which have usually been considered in realworld industry are used, and the objective is to minimize the differences of the workloads in each workgroup. The constraints and objective function are implemented in the proposed heuristic approach. Using a simple instance, the efficiency of the proposed heuristic approach is proved

  12. Job schedul in Grid batch farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gellrich, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    We present here a study for a scheduler which cooperates with the queueing system TORQUE and is tailored to the needs of a HEP-dominated large Grid site with around 10000 jobs slots. Triggered by severe scaling problems of MAUI, a scheduler, referred to as MYSCHED, was developed and put into operation. We discuss conceptional aspects as well as experiences after almost two years of running.

  13. How travellers’ schedule their trips under uncertain travel times

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjorth, Katrine

    Travel times play an important role when people decide where, when and how much to travel. But travel times are not always predictable from the traveller’s point of view: They may vary from day to day due to demand fluctuations, weather conditions, accidents and other unforeseen events that cause...... road capacity to decrease. We refer to this uncertainty as travel time variability (TTV). TTV is likely to affect how travellers schedule their trips, since it affects their probability of arriving late at their destination. We would like to account for TTV in traffic models and cost-benefit analyses......, but in practice there are limits to the kinds of behaviour that can be accommodated in such applications. For that reason, we are not solely interested in explaining travellers’ behaviour, but also in whether this behaviour can be approximated by behavioural models that are simple enough to be applied in traffic...

  14. Bridging the Gap Between Planning and Scheduling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, David E.; Frank, Jeremy; Jonsson, Ari K.; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    Planning research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has often focused on problems where there are cascading levels of action choice and complex interactions between actions. In contrast. Scheduling research has focused on much larger problems where there is little action choice, but the resulting ordering problem is hard. In this paper, we give an overview of M planning and scheduling techniques, focusing on their similarities, differences, and limitations. We also argue that many difficult practical problems lie somewhere between planning and scheduling, and that neither area has the right set of tools for solving these vexing problems.

  15. Real-time systems scheduling fundamentals

    CERN Document Server

    Chetto, Maryline

    2014-01-01

    Real-time systems are used in a wide range of applications, including control, sensing, multimedia, etc.  Scheduling is a central problem for these computing/communication systems since responsible of software execution in a timely manner. This book provides state of knowledge in this domain with special emphasis on the key results obtained within the last decade. This book addresses foundations as well as the latest advances and findings in Real-Time Scheduling, giving all references to important papers. But nevertheless the chapters will be short and not overloaded with confusing details.

  16. Manufacturing Scheduling Using Colored Petri Nets and Reinforcement Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Drakaki

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Agent-based intelligent manufacturing control systems are capable to efficiently respond and adapt to environmental changes. Manufacturing system adaptation and evolution can be addressed with learning mechanisms that increase the intelligence of agents. In this paper a manufacturing scheduling method is presented based on Timed Colored Petri Nets (CTPNs and reinforcement learning (RL. CTPNs model the manufacturing system and implement the scheduling. In the search for an optimal solution a scheduling agent uses RL and in particular the Q-learning algorithm. A warehouse order-picking scheduling is presented as a case study to illustrate the method. The proposed scheduling method is compared to existing methods. Simulation and state space results are used to evaluate performance and identify system properties.

  17. Multiprocessor Real-Time Scheduling with Hierarchical Processor Affinities

    OpenAIRE

    Bonifaci , Vincenzo; Brandenburg , Björn; D'Angelo , Gianlorenzo; Marchetti-Spaccamela , Alberto

    2016-01-01

    International audience; Many multiprocessor real-time operating systems offer the possibility to restrict the migrations of any task to a specified subset of processors by setting affinity masks. A notion of " strong arbitrary processor affinity scheduling " (strong APA scheduling) has been proposed; this notion avoids schedulability losses due to overly simple implementations of processor affinities. Due to potential overheads, strong APA has not been implemented so far in a real-time operat...

  18. KASS v.2.2. scheduling software for construction

    OpenAIRE

    Krzemiński Michał

    2016-01-01

    The paper presents fourth version of specialist useful software in scheduling KASS v.2.2 (Algorithm Scheduling Krzeminski System). KASS software is designed for construction scheduling, specially form flow shop models. The program is being dedicated closely for the purposes of the construction. In distinguishing to other used programs in tasks of this type operational research criteria were designed closely with the thought about construction works and about the specificity of the building pr...

  19. Project control integrating cost and schedule in construction

    CERN Document Server

    Del Pico, Wayne J

    2013-01-01

    The key to successful project control is the fusing of cost to schedule whereby the management of one helps to manage the other. Project Control: Integrating Cost and Schedule in Construction explores the reasons behind and the methodologies for proper planning, monitoring, and controlling both project costs and schedule. Filling a current void the topic of project control applied to the construction industry, it is essential reading for students and professionals alike.

  20. 16 CFR 5.60 - Scheduling of hearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Scheduling of hearing. 5.60 Section 5.60 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION, PROCEDURES AND RULES OF PRACTICE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Disciplinary Actions Concerning Postemployment Conflict of Interest § 5.60 Scheduling of hearing...

  1. Fixed-Time Schedule Effects in Combination with Response-Dependent Schedules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borrero, John C.; Bartels-Meints, Jamie A.; Sy, Jolene R.; Francisco, Monica T.

    2011-01-01

    We evaluated the effects of fixed-interval (FI), fixed-time (FT), and conjoint (combined) FI FT reinforcement schedules on the responding of 3 adults who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Responding on vocational tasks decreased for 2 of 3 participants under FT alone relative to FI alone. Responding under FI FT resulted in response…

  2. Joint Scheduling for Dual-Hop Block-Fading Broadcast Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Zafar, Ammar

    2012-09-16

    In this paper, we propose joint user-and-hop scheduling over dual-hop block-fading broadcast channels in order to exploit multi-user diversity gains and multi-hop diversity gains all together. To achieve this objective, the first and second hops are scheduled opportunistically based on the channel state information and as a prerequisite we assume that the relay, which is half-duplex and operates using decode-and-forward, is capable of storing the received packets from the source until the channel condition of the destined user becomes good to be scheduled. We formulate the joint scheduling problem as maximizing the weighted sum of the long term achievable rates by the users under a stability constraint, which means that on the long term the rate received by the relay should equal the rate transmitted by it, in addition to constant or variable power constraints. We show that this problem is equivalent to a single-hop broadcast channel by treating the source as a virtual user with an optimal priority weight that maintains the stability constraint. We show how to obtain the source weight either off-line based on channel statistics or on real-time based on channel measurements. Furthermore, we consider special cases including the maximum sum rate scheduler and the proportional fair scheduler. We demonstrate via numerical results that our proposed joint scheduling scheme enlarges the rate region as compared with a scheme that employs multi-user scheduling alone.

  3. Schedule reconciliation tests for management prudency determination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howell, G.E.

    1986-01-01

    The prudency audit of a nuclear project involves engineering, construction, financial, and management dimensions. The audit must retrospectively evaluate the decisions and actions of management decision makers and then equitably allocate the cost impacts of those decisions and actions in a comprehensive and objective manner. In most situations, determination of the impact of schedule delays is a paramount issue. Manzi and Associates uses an approach to schedule reconciliation that focuses on the site-specific, as-built condition. The as-built schedule model is analyzed by a backward pass, or but-for methodology which focuses on the causes and impacts of identified delays. The objective is to demonstrate that but-for the identified delay, the project could have been built in the as-planned time frame. The but-for methodology has been used in many contract dispute cases and is currently being applied to schedule reconciliation on several nuclear plants. The potential for applying this methodology to both new construction and retrofit projects is great

  4. Cure Schedule for Stycast 2651/Catalyst 11.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kropka, Jamie Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); McCoy, John D. [New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)

    2017-11-01

    The Henkel technical data sheet (TDS) for Stycast 2651/Catalyst 11 lists three alternate cure schedules for the material, each of which would result in a different state of reaction and different material properties. Here, a cure schedule that attains full reaction of the material is defined. The use of this cure schedule will eliminate variance in material properties due to changes in the cure state of the material, and the cure schedule will serve as the method to make material prior to characterizing properties. The following recommendation was motivated by (1) a desire to cure at a single temperature for ease of manufacture and (2) a desire to keep the cure temperature low (to minimize residual stress build-up associated with the cooldown from the cure temperature to room temperature) without excessively limiting the cure reaction due to vitrification (i.e., material glass transition temperature, Tg, exceeding cure temperature).

  5. Job scheduling in a heterogenous grid environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliker, Leonid; Biswas, Rupak; Shan, Hongzhang; Smith, Warren

    2004-02-11

    Computational grids have the potential for solving large-scale scientific problems using heterogeneous and geographically distributed resources. However, a number of major technical hurdles must be overcome before this potential can be realized. One problem that is critical to effective utilization of computational grids is the efficient scheduling of jobs. This work addresses this problem by describing and evaluating a grid scheduling architecture and three job migration algorithms. The architecture is scalable and does not assume control of local site resources. The job migration policies use the availability and performance of computer systems, the network bandwidth available between systems, and the volume of input and output data associated with each job. An extensive performance comparison is presented using real workloads from leading computational centers. The results, based on several key metrics, demonstrate that the performance of our distributed migration algorithms is significantly greater than that of a local scheduling framework and comparable to a non-scalable global scheduling approach.

  6. Artificial intelligence for the CTA Observatory scheduler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colomé, Josep; Colomer, Pau; Campreciós, Jordi; Coiffard, Thierry; de Oña, Emma; Pedaletti, Giovanna; Torres, Diego F.; Garcia-Piquer, Alvaro

    2014-08-01

    The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project will be the next generation ground-based very high energy gamma-ray instrument. The success of the precursor projects (i.e., HESS, MAGIC, VERITAS) motivated the construction of this large infrastructure that is included in the roadmap of the ESFRI projects since 2008. CTA is planned to start the construction phase in 2015 and will consist of two arrays of Cherenkov telescopes operated as a proposal-driven open observatory. Two sites are foreseen at the southern and northern hemispheres. The CTA observatory will handle several observation modes and will have to operate tens of telescopes with a highly efficient and reliable control. Thus, the CTA planning tool is a key element in the control layer for the optimization of the observatory time. The main purpose of the scheduler for CTA is the allocation of multiple tasks to one single array or to multiple sub-arrays of telescopes, while maximizing the scientific return of the facility and minimizing the operational costs. The scheduler considers long- and short-term varying conditions to optimize the prioritization of tasks. A short-term scheduler provides the system with the capability to adapt, in almost real-time, the selected task to the varying execution constraints (i.e., Targets of Opportunity, health or status of the system components, environment conditions). The scheduling procedure ensures that long-term planning decisions are correctly transferred to the short-term prioritization process for a suitable selection of the next task to execute on the array. In this contribution we present the constraints to CTA task scheduling that helped classifying it as a Flexible Job-Shop Problem case and finding its optimal solution based on Artificial Intelligence techniques. We describe the scheduler prototype that uses a Guarded Discrete Stochastic Neural Network (GDSN), for an easy representation of the possible long- and short-term planning solutions, and Constraint

  7. Automated Scheduling of Personnel to Staff Operations for the Mars Science Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Russell; Mishkin, Andrew; Allbaugh, Alicia

    2014-01-01

    Leveraging previous work on scheduling personnel for space mission operations, we have adapted ASPEN (Activity Scheduling and Planning Environment) [1] to the domain of scheduling personnel for operations of the Mars Science Laboratory. Automated scheduling of personnel is not new. We compare our representations to a sampling of employee scheduling systems available with respect to desired features. We described the constraints required by MSL personnel schedulers and how each is handled by the scheduling algorithm.

  8. 29 CFR 2520.103-10 - Annual report financial schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Annual report financial schedules. 2520.103-10 Section 2520... financial schedules. (a) General. The administrator of a plan filing an annual report pursuant to § 2520.103... of the annual report the separate financial schedules described in paragraph (b) of this section. (b...

  9. Harmonious personnel scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fijn van Draat, Laurens; Post, Gerhard F.; Veltman, Bart; Winkelhuijzen, Wessel

    2006-01-01

    The area of personnel scheduling is very broad. Here we focus on the ‘shift assignment problem’. Our aim is to discuss how ORTEC HARMONY handles this planning problem. In particular we go into the structure of the optimization engine in ORTEC HARMONY, which uses techniques from genetic algorithms,

  10. Generating variable and random schedules of reinforcement using Microsoft Excel macros.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bancroft, Stacie L; Bourret, Jason C

    2008-01-01

    Variable reinforcement schedules are used to arrange the availability of reinforcement following varying response ratios or intervals of time. Random reinforcement schedules are subtypes of variable reinforcement schedules that can be used to arrange the availability of reinforcement at a constant probability across number of responses or time. Generating schedule values for variable and random reinforcement schedules can be difficult. The present article describes the steps necessary to write macros in Microsoft Excel that will generate variable-ratio, variable-interval, variable-time, random-ratio, random-interval, and random-time reinforcement schedule values.

  11. A Bilevel Scheduling Approach for Modeling Energy Transaction of Virtual Power Plants in Distribution Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Nazari

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available By increasing the use of distributed generation (DG in the distribution network operation, an entity called virtual power plant (VPP has been introduced to control, dispatch and aggregate the generation of DGs, enabling them to participate either in the electricity market or the distribution network operation. The participation of VPPs in the electricity market has made challenges to fairly allocate payments and benefits between VPPs and distribution network operator (DNO. This paper presents a bilevel scheduling approach to model the energy transaction between VPPs and DNO.  The upper level corresponds to the decision making of VPPs which bid their long- term contract prices so that their own profits are maximized and the lower level represents the DNO decision making to supply electricity demand of the network by minimizing its overall cost. The proposed bilevel scheduling approach is transformed to a single level optimizing problem using its Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT optimality conditions. Several scenarios are applied to scrutinize the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed model. 

  12. Forecasting the adoption of residential ductless heat pumps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hlavinka, Alexander N.; Mjelde, James W.; Dharmasena, Senarath; Holland, Christine

    2016-01-01

    Energy-efficient technologies have the potential to provide savings to households and utilities, but consumers do not always adopt these innovations over traditional technologies. The ductless heat pump (DHP) is one such technology designed to increase energy efficiency and comfort in space conditioning. DHP adoption by single-family residences in the Pacific Northwest of the United States is investigated by quantifying the effects of utility-provided rebates and expenditures on activities such as advertising and installer training on the number of installations and forecasting installations through 2018. The number of installations is elastic with respect to net installation costs and inelastic with respect to expenditures. Given the proposed rebate budgets, doubling the current rebate is necessary to maximize installations through 2018. - Highlights: • The ductless heat pump (DHP) is an energy-efficient form of space conditioning. • Rebate and marketing programs designed to increase adoptions of DHPs are examined. • Residential adoption of DHPs is sensitive to rebates and tax credits. • Advertising and training have a smaller effect on adoption than rebates.

  13. Alternative Work Schedules in Office and Nonoffice Work Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirk, Raymond J.; Barton, H. David

    A rapidly growing change in the workplace is the replacement of a fixed work schedule with a variety of alternative work schedules (AWS), including both flexible and compressed schedules. Experimenting organizations (N=901) evaluated one of four major categories of AWS in office and nonoffice settings, i.e., a flexible 8-hour day;…

  14. Parametric Cost and Schedule Modeling for Early Technology Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-04-02

    Research NoteNational Security Rep rt PARAMETRIC MODELING FOR EARLY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT COST AND SCHEDULE Chuck...Alexander NSR_11x17_Cover_CostModeling_v8.indd 1 11/20/17 3:15 PM PARAMETRIC COST AND SCHEDULE MODELING FOR EARLY  TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Chuck...COST AND SCHEDULE MODELING FOR EARLY  TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT iii Contents Figures

  15. A Review Of Fault Tolerant Scheduling In Multicore Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shefali Malhotra

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In this paper we have discussed about various fault tolerant task scheduling algorithm for multi core system based on hardware and software. Hardware based algorithm which is blend of Triple Modulo Redundancy and Double Modulo Redundancy in which Agricultural Vulnerability Factor is considered while deciding the scheduling other than EDF and LLF scheduling algorithms. In most of the real time system the dominant part is shared memory.Low overhead software based fault tolerance approach can be implemented at user-space level so that it does not require any changes at application level. Here redundant multi-threaded processes are used. Using those processes we can detect soft errors and recover from them. This method gives low overhead fast error detection and recovery mechanism. The overhead incurred by this method ranges from 0 to 18 for selected benchmarks. Hybrid Scheduling Method is another scheduling approach for real time systems. Dynamic fault tolerant scheduling gives high feasibility rate whereas task criticality is used to select the type of fault recovery method in order to tolerate the maximum number of faults.

  16. Attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding electronic nicotine delivery systems in patients scheduled for elective surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadimpati, Sandeep; Nolan, Margaret; Warner, David O

    2015-01-01

    Smokers are at increased risk of postoperative complications. Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; or electronic cigarettes) could be a useful tool to reduce harm in the perioperative period. This pilot study examined the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of smokers scheduled for elective surgery regarding ENDS. This was a cross-sectional survey of current cigarette smokers who were evaluated in a preoperative clinic before elective surgery at Mayo Clinic. Measures included demographic characteristics, smoking history, 2 indices assessing the perception of how smoking affected health risks, ENDS use history, and 3 indices assessing interest in, perceived benefits of, and barriers to using ENDS in the perioperative period. Of the 112 smokers who completed the survey, 62 (55%) had tried ENDS and 24 (21%) reported current use. The most commonly stated reason for using ENDS was to quit smoking. Approximately 2 in 3 participants would be willing to use ENDS to help them reduce or eliminate perioperative cigarette use, and similar proportions perceived health benefits of doing so. Of the factors studied, only attempted to quit within the last year was significantly associated with increased interest in the perioperative use of ENDS (P=.03). Compared with participants who had tried ENDS (n=62), those who had never tried ENDS (n=50) had a significantly increased interest in the perioperative use of ENDS. A substantial proportion of patients scheduled for elective surgery had tried ENDS and would consider using ENDS to reduce perioperative use of cigarettes. Copyright © 2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Environmental surveillance master sampling schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bisping, L.E.

    1995-02-01

    Environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This document contains the planned 1994 schedules for routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP), Drinking Water Project, and Ground-Water Surveillance Project. Samples are routinely collected for the SESP and analyzed to determine the quality of air, surface water, soil, sediment, wildlife, vegetation, foodstuffs, and farm products at Hanford Site and surrounding communities. The responsibility for monitoring onsite drinking water falls outside the scope of the SESP. PNL conducts the drinking water monitoring project concurrent with the SESP to promote efficiency and consistency, utilize expertise developed over the years, and reduce costs associated with management, procedure development, data management, quality control, and reporting. The ground-water sampling schedule identifies ground-water sampling .events used by PNL for environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site. Sampling is indicated as annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly in the sampling schedule. Some samples are collected and analyzed as part of ground-water monitoring and characterization programs at Hanford (e.g. Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Operational). The number of samples planned by other programs are identified in the sampling schedule by a number in the analysis column and a project designation in the Cosample column. Well sampling events may be merged to avoid redundancy in cases where sampling is planned by both-environmental surveillance and another program

  18. Environmental surveillance master sampling schedule

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bisping, L.E.

    1995-02-01

    Environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This document contains the planned 1994 schedules for routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP), Drinking Water Project, and Ground-Water Surveillance Project. Samples are routinely collected for the SESP and analyzed to determine the quality of air, surface water, soil, sediment, wildlife, vegetation, foodstuffs, and farm products at Hanford Site and surrounding communities. The responsibility for monitoring onsite drinking water falls outside the scope of the SESP. PNL conducts the drinking water monitoring project concurrent with the SESP to promote efficiency and consistency, utilize expertise developed over the years, and reduce costs associated with management, procedure development, data management, quality control, and reporting. The ground-water sampling schedule identifies ground-water sampling .events used by PNL for environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site. Sampling is indicated as annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly in the sampling schedule. Some samples are collected and analyzed as part of ground-water monitoring and characterization programs at Hanford (e.g. Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Operational). The number of samples planned by other programs are identified in the sampling schedule by a number in the analysis column and a project designation in the Cosample column. Well sampling events may be merged to avoid redundancy in cases where sampling is planned by both-environmental surveillance and another program.

  19. Healthcare Scheduling by Data Mining: Literature Review and Future Directions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria M. Rinder

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a systematic literature review of the application of industrial engineering methods in healthcare scheduling, with a focus on the role of patient behavior in scheduling. Nine articles that used mathematical programming, data mining, genetic algorithms, and local searches for optimum schedules were obtained from an extensive search of literature. These methods are new approaches to solve the problems in healthcare scheduling. Some are adapted from areas such as manufacturing and transportation. Key findings from these studies include reduced time for scheduling, capability of solving more complex problems, and incorporation of more variables and constraints simultaneously than traditional scheduling methods. However, none of these methods modeled no-show and walk-ins patient behavior. Future research should include more variables related to patient and/or environment.

  20. Evolutionary Scheduler for the Deep Space Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillaume, Alexandre; Lee, Seungwon; Wang, Yeou-Fang; Zheng, Hua; Chau, Savio; Tung, Yu-Wen; Terrile, Richard J.; Hovden, Robert

    2010-01-01

    A computer program assists human schedulers in satisfying, to the maximum extent possible, competing demands from multiple spacecraft missions for utilization of the transmitting/receiving Earth stations of NASA s Deep Space Network. The program embodies a concept of optimal scheduling to attain multiple objectives in the presence of multiple constraints.