The chair of our engineering department hosts this series of talks. It’s an exchange of ideas in a very casual setting, nothing too technical. Today, we had the pleasure of having an optimization specialist for a firm comes in. Optimization = efficiency and choosing best way given constraints.
There are many factors to consider in optimizing a system. Take a water plant for example: energy price fluctuations based on time of day, peak times, bidding process, location, demand on cells, long term and short term upgrades, etc.
The sensitivity of the optimization must also be specified. For example, you are planning to arrive at work at 8:00am. Does the wind resistance of you car play a factor? Is it acceptable to arrive at 8:01?
There is also an important difference between simulation and optimization. In simulations, you suggest the inputs and it produces outputs. It won’t tell you how to fix the problems. In optimization, when you give the inputs, it finds the best possible output.
Especially difficult but necessary to optimize in today’s society is scheduling and planning. The element of time makes it infinitely more difficult, and this poses a big problem for supply chains.
