In this paper we study the Minimum Edge Addition Problem(MEAP) to decrease the diameter of a graph. MEAP can be used for improving the serviceability of telecommunication networks with a minimum investment. MEAP is an NP-hard optimization problem. We present two mathematical programming models : One is a multi-commodity flow formulation and the other is a path partition formulation. We propose a branch-and-price algorithm to solve the path partition formulation to the optimality. We develop a polynomial time column generation sub-routine conserving the mathematical structure of a sub problem for the path partition formulation. Computational experiments show that the path partition formulation is better than the multi-commodity flow formulation. The branch-and-price algorithm can find the optimal solutions for the immediate size graphs within reasonable time.

A new search procedure, VLT(Vertex Line Tracing) heuristic, for two dimensional irregular shapes nesting problem was suggested in this study. The VLT heuristic was suggested to the nesting problem to overcome disadvantages of the existing NFP(No-Fit-Polygon) method. This VLT heuristic was compared with the results of the existing benchmark problems suggested by Albano, Hopper, and Burke. The results of the VLT heuristic give efficient solutions in the point of the scrap ratio and computation time. A computer program, NestLogic, using C++ for VLT heuristic was also developed for this nesting problem.

In recent, a general trend is observed towards more customized products and shorter product life cycles in manufacturing companies. In these companies, customers often wish to influence the product they order and to get a variant of product that meets their requirements. This environment is called as a customer-oriented manufacturing companies. This paper presents a procedure of product specification management for customer-oriented manufacturing companies by using product specification framework. This framework is founded on the product specification based product structure which is made of model, specification, function, and part. Also, a product specification management system(PSMS) is implemented by using the proposed product specification framework and is a core system in product data integration system. To illustrate an utilization of the proposed framework and procedure, a case of a ship engine product is applied. As a result, PSMS reduces delivery time and improves customer relationships. Moreover, the case shows that PSMS can be used as a tool for improving inter-department coordination within a company during product life cycle.

To analyze tens of thousands of alarms triggered by the intrusion detections systems (IDS) a day has been very time-consuming, requiring human administrators to stay alert for all time. But most of the alarms triggered by the IDS prove to be the false positives. If alarms could be correctly classified into the false positive and the false negative, then we could alleviate most of the burden of human administrators and manage the IDS far more efficiently. Therefore, we present a new approach based on attribute-oriented induction (AOI) to classify alarms into the false positive and the false negative. The experimental results show the proposed approach performs very well.

Understanding consumers' latent desires for product form has now become a critical issue in product design. Accordingly, product development processes is rapidly changing from product-oriented development to user-centered development. Driver visibility is considered as an important element of driving posture packaging in automobile interior design. This study presents a systematic process for driver visibility analysis approached from affective engineering method that provides design variable selection and screening with respect to the image/impression element of the human visibility. Also, the analysis of front visibility, often called the feeling of "openness", in motor vehicle interior design, is selected and practiced a case study using the systematic process proposed in this study. Twenty six participants evaluated the feeling of openness for thirty motor vehicles following the perceived scale of affective design factors. The results showed that variables such as the height of head lining, the height of cluster housing, the gradient of windshield and the volume of A-pillar were the critical design variables which affect the feeling of openness in a motor vehicle.

As apparel manufacturers have increased their outsourcing garment making to cope with the rapid changing market, the information sharing has been the most important factor for the Korean apparel industry. The purpose of this research was to identify the properties and effects of information sharing system between Korean apparel manufactures and contractors. For this study, two apparel manufactures which actually used the information sharing systems were case-studied for the properties and effects of the information sharing system. The results of this study are shown as follows; 1) The companies ("J" and "S"), studied in this paper used sharing information mostly on order, delivery, and accounts within their contractors based on information sharing system. Company "J" turned out to have strong partnership with their contractors and developed more flexible manufacturing system and QR strategy. They shared not only basic transaction information but also quality inspection information and work-in-process information by using information sharing system. 2) The effects of information sharing system were proved as business transaction time reduced more than 60 percent, compared when staffs had to face to face, or use phone or fax to deliver documents. This study was investigated to provide an example which introduces information sharing system objectively and systematically to the apparel industry.

In the future, the ubiquitous computing environment will provide users with context-aware services, intelligently interacting with omnipresent resources and surrounding environments at any location and time. Therefore, the ubiquitous computing environment requires context-aware applications in order to gather and analyze context information in various situations. However, existing context-aware applications have mainly focused on providing services and adapting themselves to users based on user related contexts. But this environment requires not only user related contexts but also Quality-of-Service (QoS) related contexts. In this paper we propose a frame-work for supporting user-oriented QoS in ubiquitous environments. The proposed approach adopts a semantic ontology and a neural network algorithm in order to reason about explicit and uncertain contexts. We also show the possibility of applying the framework to real environments such as collaborative engineering service, automobile maintenance service and ubiquitous home service.

It is a difficult task for decision makers(DMs) to choose an appropriate release plan which balances the conflicts between water storage and hydro-electric energy generation in a multi-reservoir operation problem. In this study, we proposed a DEA-based ranking procedure by which the DM can rank the potential alternatives and select the best solution among the Pareto-optimal solutions. The proposed procedure can resolve the problem of mix inefficiency that may cause errors in measuring the efficiency of alternatives. We applied the proposed procedure to the multi-reservoir operation problem for the Geum-River basin and could choose the best efficient solution from the Pareto-set which were generated by the Coordinated Multi-Reservoir Operating Model.

Reliability prediction serves many purposes during the life of a system, so several methods have been developed to predict the parts and systems reliability. MIL-HDBK-217F, among the those methods, has been widely used as a requisite tool for the reliability prediction which is applied to nuclear power plants and their safety regulations. This paper presents the reliability prediction for the DSP(Digital Signal Processor) module composed of three assemblies. One of the assemblies has a monitoring and self test function which is used to enhance the module reliability. The reliability of each assembly is predicted by MIL-HDBK-217F. Based on these predicted values, Markov modelling is finally used to predict the module reliability. Relax 7.7 software of Relax software corporation is used because it has many part libraries and easily handles Markov processes modelling.

This paper proposes the systematic design approach for developing the evaluation indicators that evaluate the candidate proposals in the national defense core-technology R&D projects. To improve the validity and fairness of the evaluation indicators, the existing evaluation process in a military and a public sector are surveyed and also the existing evaluation system of the core-technology R&D programs for the national defense is analysed and discussed. A new system for the evaluation indicators is designed by using the axiomatic design, factor analysis and the analytic hierarchy process. It is expected that the proposed evaluation indicators contribute to enhance the fairness and the reliability of the evaluation process for the proposal of the national defense core-technology R&D projects.

Reliability of embedded softwares, as one of factors which affect system reliability, is the probability of failure-free software operation for a specified period of time in a specified environment. and Embedded software is different from general package software because hardware and operating system are tightly coupled to each other. Reliability evaluation models for embedded softwares currently used do not separate estimation and prediction models clearly, and even a standard model has not been proposed yet. In this respect, we choose a reliability estimation model suitable for embedded softwares among software evaluation models being used, and modified the model so as to accomodate recent software environments. In addtion, based on the model, the web-based reliability prediction tool RPX is developed. Finally, an embedded software is analyzed using the tool.

In this paper, we develop a transportation planning system for the mail transportation network, which consists of 25 mail centers and one mail exchange center. The main functions of the system are adjustment of transportation plan, creation of new transportation plan, and calculation of expected exchange mail volume which are transported through mail exchange center. We develop an adjusting algorithm which gives a new transportation plan by deleting, adding or changing the current routes. The algorithm based on the transportation results of current transportation plan and mail volume data. We design and implement a planning system by installing the algorithm as the planning engine. For the practical use, the system is connected to the information system of Korea Post, PostNet.

To shorten product development time and cost, integrated information managements of product, manufacturing process and resource are essential. In the area of material addressing, process engineers should make their decisions in the manner of collaborative engineering in order to reduce the manufacturing preparation time and cost in the product development and production. A digital virtual factory which is an united digital model of entire factory could be very useful for these areas. In this paper, the digital virtual factory is constructed and used for material addressing and analysis of an automotive general assembly shop. We developed the material addressing system for automotive general assembly shops using digital virtual factory models and nesting algorithms, and applied it to realistic problems of a Korean automotive company as an convenient and effective way of material addressing.