|
This example demonstrates using OptWorks to optimize a transportation logistics
scheduling problem which pulls its data from a Microsoft Access database. The
problem involves an OptWorks optimizer connected to a set of functions
describing the scheduling of a company's loading dock deliveries. The inputs to
the functions are which trucks should arrive at each dock each hour. The
resulting output is the number of required deliveries per day, with several
constraints on truck types and delivery times. The example worksheet contains a
more detailed description of the problem.
The database connection used in this example was set up to import an entire
Access table into Excel, updating the data each time the workbook is opened. In
general, to create a new set of linked data in a spreadsheet, use the external
data import wizard from Excel's menu bar:
Data->Import External Data->Import Data. Then link to an Access database and a
table in that database. Excel will import the entire table, and then its
contents can be used in an optimization problem with OptWorks.
While this example problem could be solved by hand, the same setup could easily
be expanded to draw from a database of hundreds of trucks, span several weeks
worth of deliveries, and have thousands of potential conflicts. Such a complex
problem would require the use of an optimizer such as a genetic algorithm to
sort out the discrete choices at discrete times and locations.
(Download Example
File Archive | Read More)
|
