provides
Linear Program Model Development

Manufacturing plant's linear programming models (LP) are receiving renewed interest in today’s competitive market. Companies are seeking models that are more representative and accurate over a wider range of operating conditions. LP modeling has always been a compromise between making engineering-based yield predictions and providing economic guidance for business decisions. The tendency has been to concentrate on yield predictions. On one extreme some model builders simply plug in yields from actual operations, which makes many people in the organization comfortable with the model based only on "planning history". On the other extreme using theoretical yields without attention to actual operating conditions creates something unrealistic. Both practices reduc reduces the model’s usefulness when wanting to analyze or evaluate significant changes to future operations. To develop a LP model that is accurate over a wide range of operating conditions requires a high level of competency and good source data.

Companies see a wide range of incentives to upgrade their linear programming models; these include:

·        Improvement in the model’s day to day planning predictions.
·        Desire to take greater advantage of advanced process control systems.
·        Better economic guidance in raw material selection and finished product mix.
·        More accurate variable cost evaluations of process deviations from the operating plan.
·        A greater willingness to accept and thus act on model results.

By its very nature linear programming has limitations when trying to represent the non-linear operational responses of process units. However, this does not mean that appropriate and useful linear model formulations of sufficient accuracy are beyond reach. Imaginative uses of sophisticated modeling techniques have made possible the development of LP models incorporating many complex processes. In fact, process data quality and availability are more often the limiting factor in the development of accurate models.

The consultants at Refinery Consulting have several decades of experience developing and evaluating LP models. Whether it is a single process unit or an integrated complex one, we can help improve the quality of a client’s model to meet current expectations. Our experience will assist in:

·        Defining data requirements and data generation options.
·        Choosing linear programming structures and techniques appropriate to the desired result.