This paper is focused on formal modeling of low-level interaction between holons. Using as formal methods the Place/Transition nets and Net Condition/Event systems (NCESs) we have developed some models for a communication and control mechanism between three production facilities sharing a common resource. The resource is represented by a shared route area on which each production facility deliv...

This paper deals with the problem of a distribution company that has to serve its customers by putting first the products on pallets and then loading the pallets onto trucks. We approach the problem by developing and solving integer linear models. We start with basic models, that include the essential features of the problem, such as respecting the dimensions of the truck, and not exceeding the...

Shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables is greatly influenced by environmental conditions. Increasing temperature usually results in accelerated loss of quality and shelf-life reduction, which is not physically visible until too late in the supply chain to adjust logistics to match shelf life. A blackberry study showed that temperatures inside pallets varied significantly and 57% of the berri...

We treat the problem of scheduling a owshop with pallet requirements. Each job in the owshop needs a pallet the entire time, from the start of its rst operation until the completion of the last operation, and the number of pallets in the shop at any given time is limited by an integer K. We prove that the problem is NP-hard in the strong sense for m 2 and K 3, and for m 3 and K 2, where m is th...

Although pallets have traditionally been constructed from wood, there has a shift towards making them plastic and other composite materials. Subsequently, the storage transportation industry inundated with questions about ‘the best’ pallet material type in relation to supply chain. In addition, rapidly changing global manufacturing environment, players difficulty justifying high capital cost of...