ON SOME PROBLEMS IN CHANCE-CONSTRAINED AND INTERTEMPORAL NETWORK PLANNING

Network models constitute a powerful tool for formulating, studying, and solving problems in areas which range from mathematical physics to management science and industrial engineering. Three applications of network modeling are presented in this work. The first application is a Chance-Constrained PERT model. Some properties of certain individual Chance-Constrained formulations are given and an associated reliability problem is studied.; We proceed then to study computational aspects of the joint Chance-Constrained PERT model. Finally we obtain, for certain types of task times probability distributions, an approximate distribution for the minimum completion time.; The second application is an optimum force structure model as applied to the U.S. Navy. Efficiency degradation measures for person-job combinations are defined and the static single period case is formulated and solved. The problem of integer "mixes" of optimal force structures is given an analytic solution. The dynamic case is studied next and three types of pure network models are presented as possible solution methods to the problem of intertemporal optimal assignments and optimal force structure.; The third application is a model and method for scheduling aircrews to aircraft in a cyclic multi-location situation. The method derives the minimum number of aircrews required as well as their staging locations, preserving the cyclic nature of the situation.