Stephen C. Shih

Vehicle routing with cross-docking in the supply chain

Cross-docking is considered as an efficient method to control the inventory flow, which is essential in supply chain management. In this paper, we consider a model that integrates cross-docking into the vehicle routing problem. In the model, a set of identical vehicles are used to transport goods from supplies to retailers through a cross-dock and the whole process must be completed in the planning horizon. Each supplier and retailer can be visited only once and the total quantity of goods in a vehicle must be less than its capacity. The objective of the problem is to determine the number of vehicles and a set of vehicle schedules with a minimum sum of operational cost and transportation cost. A new tabu search (TS) algorithm is proposed to obtain a good feasible solution for the problem. Through extensive computational experiments, it is shown that the proposed TS algorithm can achieve better performance than an existing TS algorithm while using much less computation time. The average improvements are as high as 10-36% for different size of problems.

Knowledge sharing-A key role in the downstream supply chain

We explore the role of knowledge sharing within a downstream two-echelon supply chain. Drawing on chaos theory and the literature on knowledge management, we contrasted the information and knowledge sharing contexts. More specifically, we have provided a real-world case study of knowledge management practice at a U.S. Fortune 40 firm. We reviewed the major issues in this firms downstream supply chain operations and have described its knowledge management initiative. Finally, we discuss the implications of knowledge management on managerial practice.

Global Robust Stabilizing Control for a Dynamic Neural Network System

This paper presents a new approach for the global robust stabilizing control of a class of dynamic neural network systems. This approach is developed via Lyapunov stability and inverse optimality, which circumvents the task of solving a Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs equation. The primary contribution of this paper is the development of a nonlinear Hinfin control design for a class of dynamic neural network systems, which are usually used in the modeling and control of nonlinear affine systems with unknown nonlinearities. The proposed Hinfin control design achieves global inverse optimality with respect to some meaningful cost functional, global disturbance attenuation, and global asymptotic stability provided that no disturbance occurs. Finally, four numerical examples are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Strategic information technology alliances for effective health-care supply chain management

To gain and sustain competitive advantage, health-care providers have to continuously review and renovate their operational and information technology (IT) strategies through collaborative and cooperative endeavour with their supply chain channel members. This paper explores new ways of enhancing a health-care organizations responsiveness to changes and increasing its competitiveness through implementing strategic information technology alliances among channel members in a health-care supply chain network. An overview of issues and problems (e.g. bullwhip effect, negative externalities and free-riding phenomenon in multichannel supply chains) presented in the health-care supply chains is first delineated. This paper further goes over the issues of health-care supply chain coordination and integration for strategic IT alliances, followed by the discussion of the spillover effect of IT investments. A number of viable IT practices (such as information sharing and Internet-enabled supply chain portal) for effective health-care supply chain collaboration and coordination are then examined in this research. Finally, the paper discusses how strategic IT alliances can help improve the effectiveness of health-care supply chain management.

E‐enterprise security management life cycle

Purpose – One of the purposes of this paper is to discuss special security concerns and new challenges at front‐end e‐business and back‐end supply chain operations. An e‐enterprise security management life cycle (eSMLC) is then proposed to ensure the unification and congruity of e‐enterprise security management.Design/methodology/approach – To demonstrate the practicality of the eSMLC, a case study is presented to depict the application and implementation of the methodology at a leading US heating, ventilating, and air‐conditioning manufacturing company.Findings – The case study substantiates that the eSMLC methodology can be employed as a unified mechanism to provide central, cohesive control and global visibility. It helps security professionals in the company develop practical steps and sustainable solutions for tackling the unique security challenges arising in an open, unbounded e‐enterprise environment.Practical implications – Implementing eSMLC can help the security specialists focus on different c...

Building Distributed E-Healthcare for Elderly Using RFID and Multi-Agent

With the advancement of living standards and healthcare systems, there have been significant improvements in life preservation worldwide over this century which are reflected in prolonged life expectancy and are enlarging the aging population. In the foreseeable future, the home care environment is recognized as the first line of defense for health and medical care via proper implementation of state-of-the-art information technologies. For instance, in the home care environment, the tracking of physiological information not only circumvents the high-cost medical manpower and resources, but the signs of abnormal health can also be detected further by long-term and sustaining health records. In this paper the development of an intelligent home healthcare system based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and the mobile agent technologies is described. The system enables the RFID home care service and physiological assessment based on the concept of Location-based Service (LBS). Additionally, by coupling the technologies of dynamic detection and motion detection, a home care system for real-time safety has been designed to prevent the elderly from accidental falling.

A theoretical perspective of man‐made system disasters: Social‐technical analysis and design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study major man‐made system disasters and to suggest a solution for filling the noted gaps in control systems interfaces and to render those vital considerations for the next‐generation disaster management control systems.Design/methodology/approach – This research analyzes the nature of large‐scale disasters and observes that most man‐made system disasters are composed of many related events that interact with one another.Findings – The findings show evidence of a common path to catastrophe. These functional failures resulted from the information gaps that eventually contribute to the development of a tragedy. Because of the intricate interconnections among related events of a developed calamity, an integrated approach to man‐made disaster detection and prevention as well as emergency management is required.Practical implications – Conducting an analysis of the typical contingency control structures, the authors suggest that disaster or emergency managers adopt a...

Minimising total completion time on single-machine scheduling with new integrated maintenance activities

A single-machine scheduling problem with new maintenance activities is examined in this paper. In the scheduling literature, it is often assumed that the interval between maintenance activities is fixed or within a specified time frame. However, this assumption may not hold true in many real-world situations, such as the maintenance activities in wafer manufacturing of semiconductor. Before the wafer manufacturing process starts, it is imperative that the wafers go through a number of cleaning operations to avoid contamination. Using a cleaning agent as the main material of wafer cleaning, the contamination will be dissolved and removed from wafer surface. In case of contamination being accumulated substantial and going beyond a permitted value, the cleaning agent is highly likely to damage the wafer surfaces. Thus, the interval between maintenance activities in the wafer manufacturing process is deemed irregular. The objective function of the proposed problem is to minimise total completion time. Addressing the problem, a binary integer programming model is formulated in this paper. Furthermore, with the research problem being NP-hard, a heuristic based on two special properties is proposed to address the problem. To evaluate and validate the proposed heuristic, a new lower bound is further developed. Extensive experiments have been conducted showing that the proposed heuristic efficiently yields a near-optimal solution with an average percentage error of 15.4 from lower bound.

Design of risk-sensitive optimal control for stochastic recurrent neural networks by using Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation

This paper presents a theoretical design for the stabilization of stochastic recurrent neural networks with respect to a risk-sensitive optimality criterion. This approach is developed by using the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation, Lyapunov technique, and inverse optimality, to obtain a risk-sensitive state feedback controller, which guarantees an achievable meaningful cost for a given risk-sensitivity parameter. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

An approximate mathematical model for analysis of underwater acoustic sensor networks

This paper presents an approximate mathematical model that can provide assistance for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UW-ASN) in predicting mean propagation delay and mean response time over a geographical area. Therefore, a decision can be made based on the evaluation of all factors regarding the performance measures. In this paper, the case of a single sink is considered, which is responsible for all information requests, in a specific territory on a first come first served basis, and data is transmitted in peer-to-peer mode.