Scheduling Solutions for the Paper Industry

Abstract

This paper describes a decision support system for paper production scheduling. This is the first system to provide an integrated solution to paper production scheduling and to consider interactions between different stages of the manufacturing and distribution process. Using a multicriteria optimization approach, the system generates multiple enterprisewide schedules to reveal tradeoffs between the multiple, often competing, objectives. The large portfolio of algorithms used by the system is embedded in an agent-based decision support framework, called Asynchronous Team (A-Team). Successful implementations of the system in several paper mills in North America have resulted in significant savings and improved customer satisfaction.

Renovation of the cutting stock process

“…Rodriguez and Vecchieti (2007) present an optimization of cutting problem in board boxes production process within the pulp and paper supply chain and the linkage of such solution to the ERP system of an organisation. Similarly, the role of CS in the paper industry is identified as only one of the decisions in production scheduling that consists of order allocation, formation and sequencing of batches, trimming, and load planning (Keskinocak et al, 2002). In addition, since the trend of mass customisation and personalisation is evident more and more products are being made through build-to-order (BTO) supply chains (Krajewski et al, 2005).…”

Agent-based supply-chain planning in the forest products industry

“…They aim at developing new ways of solving complex problems by defining different agents with complementary capabilities in order to solve part of a large mathematical problem. Another application of such an approach is proposed in Keskinocak et al (2002) to solve the planning problem in a paper mill, linking customers needs with production constraints. In their approach, some agents are designed to optimize part of the overall problem, others are designed to consolidate partial solutions to generate feasible global solutions, while other agents evaluate the performance of the global solution in order to make the final decisions.…”

Optimal job splitting on a multi‐slot machine with applications in the printing industry

“…The process of cutting the reels into smaller rolls of paper based on customer specified widths is called trimming. The reels are cut into rolls according to patterns which are combinations of different roll widths (for a given diameter) [10]. For example, a reel of width 200 can be cut into four rolls of width 40 and one roll of width 35, resulting in 5 inches (200 − 4 × 40 − 35 = 5) of waste (trim loss).…”

“…Using different patterns to cut the reels requires a setup on the winder (the machine used to cut the reels) since the position of the knives between consecutive patterns must be changed [10]. Winder setups may be time consuming and costly, especially if they must be done manually.…”