40 years of EURO - History, Applications, Future Potentials EURO XXV, 8-11 July 2012, Vilnius H.-J. Zimmermann, Aachen

40 years of EURO- History, Applications, Future Potentials

EURO XXV, 8-11 July 2012, Vilnius

H.-J. Zimmermann, Aachen

2

AGENDA

1. History- Professional and Communications Environment in the 1970‘s- The Birth Process of EURO- EURO today

2. Applications of OR- Decision Logic vs. Dedicated Decision Support Systems (DDSS)- From Packaged Solutions (Insellösungen) to System Optimization- IT vs. OR?- Areas of Application and Results

3. Potentials and Weaknesses of OR- Applicability- Education and Training- Public Visibility

EURO XXV, 8-11 July 2012, Vilnius - H.J. Zimmermann, Aachen 18.04.23


1. History - The 1970‘s

Logistics

• Europe - USA: By ship (5 - 13 day)

• Super Constellation: 24 hours, one stop

• No electronic booking systems (slow !)

• Customs- and Passport Control at each European Border

• However: No Security Measures at Airports; No terrorism; No Hijacking(Pleasant Air Travel).



Communications

• No Fax; No e-mail

• Telephone and Telex (1 Min. Transatl. = -,74 € / today: -,01 €/ Min.)

• No Mobile Phones (today: 3.5 Billion Users)

• No Courier Services (Fed.Ex. etc.)

• Letter intercontinental: 2 - 3 weeks

• Each single letter had to be typed

• No www

• No Social Nets.



Professional Environment

• 3 large OR - Journals (OR, Mgt.Sc., ORQ) and several small national journals(in national language)

• „Iron Curtain“

• Professional Societies: 2 large in USA (TIMS, ORSA) with appr. 10,000 members

• IFORS (without any terretorial structure)

• Europe: 1 „Big“ Society (3,200 members) in Great Britain. 13 National Societies (between 150 and 800 members)

• Hardly any professional communication between European Societies

• Languages: 12 - 15 relevant European languages. English less popular than now.



Professional Environment (2)

• Conferences: National Conferences, IFORS - Conference every 3 years. USA: TIMS and ORSA every year

• Business (in Germany): Most larger corporations had one or severalOR - departments (Mid - 60‘s to End - 70‘s). Demand for OR - Seminars

• OR: Strongly method - oriented; Lack of data, software, hardware (Price forstoring data decreased by a factor of 5 Mill. until today ! Running time reductionfor LP - codes last 10 years: 5.4 Mill.)

• OR - Departments: Consisted mainly of mathematicians and engineers

• OR - Education: OR - Masterprograms in USA, Great Britain (and Japan).On the continent: Single courses in Math. - Dept. or Bus. - Dept., private seminars

• OR - Reputation (Ackoff, 1979): „American Operations Research is dead though not yet burried“.


1. History - The Birth - Process of EURO

August 23, 1972After some preparation the Presidents of European OR-Societies meet in the frameworkof the IFORS-Conference in Dublin and agree, that the communication and co-operation of European OR-Societies is sub-optimal.

September 3/4, 1973Representatives of 11 European OR-Societies meet in Düsseldorf to discuss and decide on future activities.

May 3/4, 1974Representatives of 8 European OR-Societies meet in Amsterdam and decide to have thefirst European OR-Conference in 1975.


1. History - The Birth - Process of EURO (2)

January 27, 1975

„In the belief that the purpose of Operational Research is to improve the well-being of people by improving the relevance and effectiveness of the institutionsand organizations which serve them":

that it seeks to do so by means of the rational methods of science exercised by representatives of divers disciplines working together, each supporting the others;

that this co-operation which respects no boundaries between disciplines should respect no boundaries between people; and

that the Operational Research Societies of Europe should more closely co-operate one with another to further the theory and practice of Operational Research.”

First European OR-Conference with appr. 500 participants takes place in Brussels.At the end of this conference 10 European OR-Societies sign the „Agreement for European Co-operation in the Field of Operational Research“ with the followingPreamble:


1. History - The Birth - Process of EURO (3)

It was also decided that:

• A working group to design a constitution should be established

• To start 7 working groups

• To start the Euro-Bulletin

• To prepare the publication of a European OR-Journal.


1. History - EURO Today

• EURO now has 30 member countries

• EJOR, the internationally leading OR-Journal (No.1 according to number of articles,No.2 according to citations)

• EURO has launched 3 further Journals (Transportation and Logistics, Decision Processes and Computational Optimization)

• EURO has several Prizes and Awards

• EURO organizes a number of specialized events

• EURO has 28 working groups dedicated to applied as well as theoretical topic

• EURO has an attractive web-page and a permanent secretariat

• Last not Least: We are at the 25th EURO-Conference. These conferences with up to 2000 delegates were located from Jerusalem to Reykjavik and from Lisbon to Istanbul. This time we are 24 km South-East of the Centre of Europe.(Acc. to the National Geographic Institute of France!)


1. History - EURO Today (2)

• EURO has a well-balanced definition of OR:

HENCE: EURO has become a very important and productive promoter for OR in Europe and the World. CONGRATULATIONS!

Let us now look at another aspect of OR: APPLICATIONS

Operational Research (O.R.) is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methodsto help make better decisions.

In its evolution O.R. merged contributions from cognitive sciences, computer science, economics, mathematics and organisation theory. At the same time it became relevant to engineering, management, environmental and political sciences, but also to artificial intelligence, molecular biology and data mining as well as to archaeology, forestry and modern art.


2. Applications of OR

To clarify the term „application“:

1. Apply one theory to another(Fuzzy Linear Programming)

2. Apply one theory to a model(Stochastic Inventory Control)

3. Apply one theory via a method to arrive at a tool(ILOG, ...)

4. Apply 1. to 3. to a real problem

4 Interpretations:

I shall only mean 4., when I talk about applications.



Decision Logic vs. DDSS

• The „basic decision model“ of the logic of decisions as a singular, timeless, one criteria act of choice does not help very much in practise.

• Real decisions in DDSS are rather multi person, multi criteria, time consuming and complexity reducing information processes.

• The time scale (strategic or tactical planning vs. control) determines the theories used and the structure of the DDSS.



• Packaged SolutionsOften homogeneous solution method or suboptimal(Easier for publication!)

Systems Optimization

• Problems : Complexity : DecompositionDifferent solutions possible.

• Examples:

From Packaged Solutions (Insellösungen) to Systems Optimization

Maritime Container HarborAirport Ground Optimization



Example:

Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB), Hamburg

From 1968 to 2014


Example: Container Port Logistics


Crane 1 Crane 2

Real-time ControlledContainer Movers

Identification-points

Entrance Gate Public Road

Exit Gate

Ship Crane I

Ship Crane II

Real-time controlled

Road Trucks

Real-timecontrolledContainer

Cranes

Cra

ne

A

Cra

ne

C

Cra

ne

B

Cra

ne

D

Cra

ne

E

Cra

ne

F

ContainerStorage Area



Example:Transshipment Process from Waterside to Hinterland



Example:Airport Ground Optimization



Example:Airport Ground Optimization



• From lack of data to abundance of data

• Need for additional techniques (data mining etc.)

• Higher importance of GUI for better user friendlyness

• Change of name ?

IT vs. OR?



Areas of Applications and Results

• Application Areas almost unlimited

• Results: Hundreds of Testamonials within literature. Here some examples(from www.euro-online.org)

- Ford used O.R. to optimise the way it designs and tests vehicle prototypes, saving well over £150 million.

- British Airways used O.R. to review engineering inventory models and processes and identified £21 million-worth of surplus inventory which was disposed of.

- A hospital called in O.R. consultants to reduce outpatient waiting times. Using a simulation model, the O.R. team developed a new system that cut waiting times by as much as 50% .

- Due to continuously increasing efficiency of the three new parcel centers, Swiss Post has been able to transfer functions from two old parcel centers working without SyncroTESS to the new centers. This results in annual savings potential of about 12 million Swiss francs (about $8 million) for Swiss Post.


3. Potentials and Weaknesses of OR

Considering:

• Number of Publications

• Number of EURO members

• Means of communication (conferences etc.)

• Available Tools

• Web- and other Services

EURO is a very remarkable Success Story.


Challenges are still:

• OR is not only optimization or data mining algorithms but also:- Interdisciplinary teamwork- Problem recognition- Problem Modeling- Solution selling

• Education in OR(Hardly any programs on the continent)In 2007 in UK: $26 mill. initiativ!

• Visibility of OR - Potentials and Success to Practioners(Problem Owners)

3. Potentials and Weaknesses of OR

Thank you for your attention!

EURO XXV, 8-11 July 2012, Vilnius

H.-J. Zimmermann, Aachen

Documents

40 years of EURO - History, Applications, Future Potentials EURO XXV, 8-11 July 2012, Vilnius H.-J. Zimmermann, Aachen