[rules-users] physical resource allocation problem

[Scott Danner]

Hello,

We have a resource allocation problem. Could this be solved with
OptaPlanner?

Here it is:
There are N projects located in various places that need work done with
machines (just one machine type for all machine work).
Work can be parallelized, e.g. 6 work days can be done in 6 calendar days
by one machine or in 3 calendar days by two, or in 4 calendar days by 2
machines (one works 4, other 2).

How to best allocate machines to projects?
Looking at planned project work, how many machines are needed for each
calendar day? How many machines should we buy, and how many to rent, and
when?


Details

For each project, the work can & must be done only in some selected
calendar periods.
Machine locations are always known.

Machine costs:
* moving from location A to location B (per km). Moving also takes time,
and a machine can be moved a maximum amount of km per day.
* operating (per day)
* staying in a project location (per day)
* staying in a hangar (per day)
* being rented for one day from location L (total cost = transport from
rent location to project location and back, and daily rent)
* being purchased



A machine also needs an operator, but for now that can be considered a
single unit.

Ideally, also take into accounting weather for each project location.
Weather might be known with 2 weeks in advance. Just re-plan by blocking
the rainy days for some projects?

Thanks,
Scott
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