2018
Authors
Coelho, J; Vanhoucke, M;
Publication
COMPUTERS & OPERATIONS RESEARCH
Abstract
This paper reports on results for the well-known resource-constrained project scheduling problem. A branch-and-bound procedure is developed that takes into account all best performing components from literature, varying branching schemes and search strategies, using the best performing dominance rules and assembling these components into a unified search algorithm. A composite lower bound strategy that statically and dynamically selects the best performing bounds from literature is used to find optimal solutions within reasonable times. An extensive computational experiment is set up to determine the best combination of the various components used in the procedure, in order to benchmark the current existing knowledge on four different datasets from the literature. By varying the network topology, resource scarceness and the size of the projects, the computational experiments are carried out on a diverse set of projects. The procedure was able to find some new lower bounds and optimal solutions for the PSPLIB instances. Moreover, new best known results are reported for other, more diverse datasets that can be used in future research studies. The experiments revealed that even project instances with 30 activities cannot be solved to optimality when the topological structure is varied.
2018
Authors
Vanhoucke, M; Coelho, J;
Publication
COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Abstract
In a paper written by by Vanhoucke et al. (2016), an overview of artificial and empirical project databases has been given for integrated project management and control. These databases are collections of the most wellknown and widespread data instances available in literature for the construction of a baseline schedule, the analysis of schedule risk or the use for project control. The current paper serves as a follow-up study to further elaborate on the use of these data instances, and to give researchers an incentive to use these datasets for their research on the development and validation of new algorithms for project scheduling. Therefore, unlike the general focus of the previous paper on baseline scheduling, schedule risk analysis and project control, the focus on the current paper is restricted to resource-constrained project scheduling. The intention of this follow-up overview is fourfold. First and foremost, a procedure is proposed to facilitate the reporting of best known solutions for the well-known single- and multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling problem to minimize the project makespan. Secondly, the paper reports our best known solutions we obtained so far, and reflects on the network and resource parameters that increase the project complexity. In doing so, areas to focus on for future research are detected, and an attempt to define hard problem instances is given. Thirdly, a new dataset is presented for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem that is much more diverse in both the network topology and resource scarceness and will enable the future researcher to develop algorithms to solve a wider range of project problems. Finally, the paper also adds some links to tutorials and other relevant information to stimulate researchers to download the data and update best known solutions once available.
2018
Authors
Marcos, Adérito; Tavares, Mirian; Bidarra, José; Martins, Amílcar; Coelho, José; Carvalho, Elizabeth; Saldanha, Ângela; Mucheroni, Marcos;
Publication
Abstract
Livro de bordo do 6º Retiro Doutoral em Média-Arte Digital – Ad Astra Per Aspera”, Centro Cultural Magalhães Lima, Alfama, Lisboa, 21-27 julho de 2018.
2018
Authors
Mamede, HS;
Publication
Handbook of Research on Strategic Innovation Management for Improved Competitive Advantage
Abstract
Knowledge management is still a problem for many organizations and at two different levels: tacit knowledge, which typically resides in the head of each individual and gets lost for the organizations when a person goes to work with a different company; and explicit knowledge, which presents growing costs for its dissemination in the organization. In the chapter, the author proposes a model to address those problems, taking for base the SECI (socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization) model, originally developed for knowledge management, together with an e-learning platform and a set of activities as tools to implement a working solution. Such models have the ability to solve organizational knowledge problems, implementing a knowledge management process, allowing the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. © 2018, IGI Global.
2018
Authors
Carvalho, M; Mamede, HS;
Publication
CENTERIS 2018 - International Conference on ENTERprise Information Systems / ProjMAN 2018 - International Conference on Project MANagement / HCist 2018 - International Conference on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies 2018, Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract
In the global, competitive and ever-changing market it is important that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), as a significant part of the Portuguese industrial business, become competitive and, thus, it´s important to assess how the level of involvement in Electronic Commerce (EC), in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relations, can influence the success of a microenterprise in the retail sector, focusing on the Portuguese sub-region of Pinhal Interior Norte. Being a region that is far from the big metropolises, where the young and more educated stratum distances itself, leaving it little more than the population that is getting older and with a reduced level of education, we considered it interesting to study if the microenterprises of the region are prepared to the new era of technology as a business model for their companies. Using the definition of success for a company as positive and growing financial result, it is objective of this work to know if companies with involvement in the EC, in B2C relations, have an increasing success rate due to its adoption and maintenance. Based on a research in a database with information from the companies, the sample was subsequently evaluated to find out which of the companies in the sample were involved in the EC and conducted surveys / interviews with the managers of the sample companies to assess the motivation (s) for their adoption, as well as whether they recognize the return of their investment and what they intend to do to maintain or modify their business. Initially we found several difficulties to gather data to be able to achieve proper conclusions, but with the help of some company managers, we were able to confirm that 62.50% of the analyzed companies saw their financial result increased after the adoption of the EC, which allows us to establish the existence of a relationship between the two facts. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd..
2018
Authors
da Costa, IJM; São Mamede, JHP; Cagica Carvalho, LM;
Publication
Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies, WEBIST 2018, Seville, Spain, September 18-20, 2018.
Abstract
The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a technical innovation that is already starting to play an important role in smarter water management, when a wide variety of sensors are incorporated into intelligent metering equipment and connected through wireless networks throughout the domiciliary water distribution network, being able to measure volume, flow, temperature, pressure, levels of chlorine, salinity and more. Water scarcity, aging or inadequate water distribution infrastructure, population variation, pollution, more intense and frequent droughts and floods, generate pressures that converge on the need to increase global investment in water infrastructures and to develop solutions for the conservation and management of water. The main stakeholders in the water distribution sector are the ones that can benefit most from the use of telemanagement. However, the results of adopting this innovation are contrary to expectations, with a slow change in traditional business models. The objective of this research is the construction of a value model that allows the identification of actors and value markets and the exchange of value related to the adoption of telemanagement in Portugal, having a solid theoretical basis and a real practical validation. Copyright
The access to the final selection minute is only available to applicants.
Please check the confirmation e-mail of your application to obtain the access code.