• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.187-190
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• 2003

Many manufacturing companies consider the integrated and concurrent scheduling because they need the global optimization technology that could manufacture various products more responsive to customer needs. In this paper, we propose an advanced scheduling model to generate the schedules considering resource constraints and precedence constraints in make-to-order (MTO) manufacturing environments. Precedence of work- in-process(WIP) and resources constraints have recently emerged as one of the main constraints in advanced scheduling problems. The advanced scheduling problems is formulated as a multiobjective mathematical model for generating operation schedules which are obeyed resources constraints, alternative workstations of operations and the precedence constraints of WIP in MTO manufacturing. For effectively solving the advanced scheduling problem, the multi-objective hybrid genetic algorithm (m-hGA) is proposed in this paper. The m-hGA is to minimize the makespan, total flow time of order, and maximum tardiness for each order, simultaneously. The m-hGA approach with local search-based mutation through swap mutation is developed to solve the advanced scheduling problem. Numerical example is tested and presented for advanced scheduling problems with various orders to describe the performance of the proposed m-hGA.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8_spc
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• pp.1266-1274
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• 2019

This paper presents a review of dairy goat production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2010- 2017, its current state, constraints and prospects for research and development. Since the introduction of dairy goats in SSA in pre-colonial times, their populations have continued to increase due to declining land size as a result of land fragmentation and increasing demand for goat milk. The current goat population in SSA is 372,716,040 head of which only 15.98% used for milk production. Populations in the Eastern and Western regions of SSA have shown an increasing trend from 2010 to 2017. The Southern Africa goat population is on the decline at an annual rate of about 1.77% whereas Central Africa has had a constant goat population within the same period. Eastern Africa reported the highest increase in the population of goats used for milk production. Milk production was highest in Eastern Africa and lowest in Southern Africa. However, dairy goat productivity remained constant in the Eastern region throughout the review period. Dairy goats are mainly raised under smallholder mixed crop-livestock systems. To enhance the development of the dairy goat, concerted efforts should be made to alleviate the constraints that stifle its growth. These constraints can be categorized into nutrition and feeding, breeding and reproduction, diseases, parasites, climate change, and underdeveloped dairy goat products market. Effective management of dairy goats requires a holistic approach and there is the need to expand the markets by further sensitization on the nutritional and medicinal advantages of dairy goat products. In order to achieve rapid development in the dairy goat sub sector, research and development initiatives should be directed towards alleviating the hurdles in nutrition and feeding, breeding, animal health and resilience as well as dairy goat markets.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.29-35
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• 2014

Purpose - The study aimed to evaluate the market opportunities and constraints confronting resource-poor pig farmers in South Africa. Research design, data, and methodology - Information was collected from 292 households in three municipalities through interviews with key informants. The data collected included socio-economic characteristics, major market channels, prices for different pig classes, average weight of the pigs on sale, number of pigs sold annually, and preferred meat quality attributes. Results - In Ngqushwa, 96% of respondents sold pigs as compared to Elundini (81%) and Ntabankulu (65%). Less resource-poor households and those with market-oriented production had large herdsizes (P < 0.05) when compared to more resource-poor farmers. The probability of selling pigs was high for the backyard production system and educated farmers. For all farmers, opportunities included high pork demand, good prices, employment creation, and a niche market for organically produced indigenous pork. Constraints include disease, feed shortages for large herds, distances to formal markets, lack of training, and drugs. Conclusions - Constraints outnumbered opportunities for the resource-poor pig farmers.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.169-180
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• 2019

Beekeeping has been practiced for centuries in Ethiopia. Currently, there are three broad classification of honey production systems in Ethiopia; these are traditional (forest and backyard), transitional(intermediate) and modern(frame beehive) systems. Ethiopian honey production is characterized by the widespread use of traditional technology resulting in relatively low honey yield and poor honey quality. Despite the challenges and constraints, Ethiopia has the largest bee population in Africa with over 10 million bee colonies, of which 5 to 7.5million are hived while the remaining exists in the wild. Consequently, these figures, indeed, has put Ethiopia as the leading honey and beeswax producer in Africa. In fact, Ethiopia has even bigger potential than the current honey production due to the availability of plenty apicultural resources such as natural forests with adequate apiculture flora, water resources and a high number of existing bee colonies. However, lack of well-trained man powers, lack of standardization, problems associated with honey bee pests and diseases, high price and limited availability of modern beekeeping equipment's for beekeepers and absconding and migration of bee colonies are some of the major constraints reported for beekeeping in Ethiopia. In this review, an attempt was made to present all beekeeping practices in Ethiopia. The opportunities and major constraints of the sector were also discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.1162-1172
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• 2000

The research was conducted to quantify farm and household characteristics of sheep farmers, evaluate farmer access to and the effectiveness of livestock services in sheep farming areas, and examine regional constraints to improving sheep productivity and profitability in Nepal. A rapid diagnostic socioeconomic survey of 200 sheep farmers was carried out in 1996 and all four ecological regions (Trans-Himalayan, Mountains, Hills and Terai), each with a distinct local sheep breed, were represented in the survey. Six major constraints were identified: (a) poor performance of local sheep breeds, (b) a serious seasonal deficit of pasture and other feed, (c) the lack of an organized market for wool and meat, (d) poor access to agricultural credit, (e) primitive shearing equipment, and (f) an inadequate supply of drinking water for sheep. Strategies to assist farmers develop their sheep management skills, improve access and quality of support services, improved technology adaptable to local conditions and effective linkages with local carpet and meat industry are likely to overcome the constraints and alleviate persistent poverty faced by sheep farmers in Nepal.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.362-371
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• 2009

Shipbuilding is a typical 'build to order' industry. It has a business model that generates revenues from building various ships and offshore products in accordance with owner's requirements at each production stage. Under uncertainty in shipping market, it is very essential for the shipbuilder to prepare the fast and competitive decision for product portfolio strategy in order to maximize contribution margin by exploiting production facilities and constraints. In this study, we introduce the unique decision supporting methodology for the optimal product portfolio sets based on Theory of Constraints(TOC). This methodology is established by adopting the concept of Drum Buffer Rope(DBR) in constraints planning and Throughput Accounting (TA) in management accounting of TOC. In addition, Decision Supporting System(DSS) is implemented. This DSS system provides a throughput estimator with reflecting the cost structure of shipbuilding industry and a resource simulator built on heuristic algorithms to operate major constraint-resources in shipyard such as dock, quay and pre-erection area etc. Several examples are presented to show that the proposed methodology and system can effectively support the strategic decision-making process of a global shipbuilding company.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.94 no.5 s.162
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• pp.342-348
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• 2005

An exploratory survey was performed to assess the present status of distribution and production of coconut palm (Cocos nucifera Linn.) in the rural landscape of Meghna floodplain of Bangladesh. A multistage simple random sampling technique was adopted to identify the study area and respondents. A total of 50 households were selected randomly for the study. Traditional knowledge on cultivation, management, and production of coconut palm was emphasized. Marketing of coconut palm products and income derived from coconut palm cultivation was taken into consideration. Perceptions of farmers, traders and professionals were described in due context of opportunities and constraints of coconut palm cultivation. Coconut palm cultivation was found to play an important role in household economy in rural Bangladesh sharing considerable contribution to the total income. About 10% of their total annual income was reported to come from coconut husbandry. Highest number of the coconut palms, 24%, was found to grow in the homestead compounds and in the pond banks. About one-third lands of the households were found to be covered by the coconut palms. Maximum, 19%, coconut palms were found in the 16-20 years age-class. Production of coconut was found highest at the age-class 11-15 years. The study found some important opportunities and constraints of coconut farming in rural Meghna floodplain area of Bangladesh. The results of this study would be useful for the rural development practitioners in Bangladesh.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.697-713
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• 2022

In the context of the finite elements method, the dynamic behavior of porous functionally graded double wishbone vehicle suspension structural system incorporating joints flexibility constraints under road bump excitation is studied and analyzed. The functionally graded material properties distribution through the thickness direction is simulated by the power law including the porosity effect. To explore the porosity effects, both classical and adopted porosity models are considered based on even porosity distribution pattern. The dynamic equations of motion are derived based on the Hamiltonian principle. Closed forms of the inertia and material stiffness components are derived. Based on the plane frame isoparametric Timoshenko beam element, the dynamic finite elements equations are developed incorporating joint flexibilities constraints. The Newmark's implicit direct integration methodology is utilized to obtain the transient vibration time response under road bump excitation. The presented procedure is validated by comparing the computational model results with the available numerical solutions and an excellent agreement is observed. Obtained results show that the decrease of porosity percentage and material graduation tends to decrease the deflection as well as the resulting stresses of the control arms thus improving the dynamic performance and increasing the service lifetime of the control arms.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2004

This paper proposes a new algorithm for determining an optimal control input for production systems. In many production systems, completion time should be planned within the due dates by taking into account precedence constraints and processing times. To solve this problem, the max-plus algebra is an effective approach. The max-plus algebra is an algebraic system in which the max operation is addition and the plus operation is multiplication, and similar operation rules to conventional algebra are followed. Utilizing the max-plus algebra, constraints of the system are expressed in an analogous way to the state-space description in modern control theory. Nevertheless, the formulation of a system is currently performed manually, which is very inefficient when applied to practical systems. Hence, in this paper, we propose a new algorithm for deriving a state-space description and determining an optimal control input with several constraint matrices and parameter vectors. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this proposed algorithm is verified through execution examples.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2008

Available-to-promise (ATP) exhibiting availability of manufacturing resources can be used to support customer order promising. Recently, one advanced function called Capable-to-promise (CTP) is provided by several modern APS (advanced planning system) that checks available capacity for placing new production orders or increasing already scheduled production orders. At the customer enquiry stage while considering the order delivery date and quantity to quote, both ATP and CTP are allocated to support order promising. In particular, current trends of mass customization and multi-side production chain derive several new constraints that should be considered when ATP/CTP allocation planning for order promising - such as customer's preference plants or material vendors, material compatibility, etc. Moreover, ATP/CTP allocation planning would be executed over a rolling time horizon. To utilize capacity and material manufacturing resource flexibly and fulfill more customer orders, ATP/CTP rolling planning should possess resource reallocation mechanism under the constraints of order quantities and delivery dates for all previous order promising. Therefore, to enhance order promising with reliability and flexibility to reallocate manufacturing resource, the ATP/CTP reallocation planning mechanism is needed in order to reallocate material and capacity resource for fulfilling all previous promised and new customer orders beneficially with considering new derived material and capacity constraints.