The finance-based scheduling problem(FBSP)is about scheduling project activities without exceeding a credit line financing limit.The FBSP is extended to consider different execution modes that result in the multi-mode...The finance-based scheduling problem(FBSP)is about scheduling project activities without exceeding a credit line financing limit.The FBSP is extended to consider different execution modes that result in the multi-mode FBSP(MMFBSP).Unfortunately,researchers have abandoned the development of exact models to solve the FBSP and its extensions.Instead,researchers have heavily relied on the use of heuristics and meta-heuristics,which do not guarantee solution optimality.No exact models are available for contractors who look for optimal solutions to the multi-objective MMFBSP.CPLEX,which is an exact solver,has witnessed a significant decrease in its computation time.Moreover,its current version,CPLEX 12.9,solves multi-objective optimization problems.This study presents a mixed-integer linear programming model for the multi-objective MMFBSP.Using CPLEX 12.9,we discuss several techniques that researchers can use to optimize a multi-objective MMFBSP.We test our model by solving several problems from the literature.We also show how to solve multi-objective optimization problems by using CPLEX 12.9 and how computation time increases as problem size increases.The small increase in computation time compared with possible cost savings make exact models a must for practitioners.Moreover,the linear programming-relaxation of the model,which takes seconds,can provide an excellent lower bound.展开更多
文摘The finance-based scheduling problem(FBSP)is about scheduling project activities without exceeding a credit line financing limit.The FBSP is extended to consider different execution modes that result in the multi-mode FBSP(MMFBSP).Unfortunately,researchers have abandoned the development of exact models to solve the FBSP and its extensions.Instead,researchers have heavily relied on the use of heuristics and meta-heuristics,which do not guarantee solution optimality.No exact models are available for contractors who look for optimal solutions to the multi-objective MMFBSP.CPLEX,which is an exact solver,has witnessed a significant decrease in its computation time.Moreover,its current version,CPLEX 12.9,solves multi-objective optimization problems.This study presents a mixed-integer linear programming model for the multi-objective MMFBSP.Using CPLEX 12.9,we discuss several techniques that researchers can use to optimize a multi-objective MMFBSP.We test our model by solving several problems from the literature.We also show how to solve multi-objective optimization problems by using CPLEX 12.9 and how computation time increases as problem size increases.The small increase in computation time compared with possible cost savings make exact models a must for practitioners.Moreover,the linear programming-relaxation of the model,which takes seconds,can provide an excellent lower bound.
