OR 680: Group Projects


Personal Banking: A Capital Budgeting Problem

We, as individual investors, have available to us a variety of investment options. Without reliable information on how alternative deposit distributions affect our short term rate of return prospects, we will be unable to take full advantage of these opportunities. OR techniques can provide the flexible guidance not otherwise available to individuals.

Group members (* indicates originator of project):


Analysis & Predictability of the Effectiveness of Navy Platforms

The situation in which only a small number of Navy platforms are available to perform critical missions raises a special challenge to analysts. As political and budget considerations bring the number of Navy inventory assets to record low levels, and as the geopolitical situation demands a more complex commitment of those assets, it becomes vital for the analyst to rely on other methods besides steady-state models and expected values. Instead, one has to develop new approaches based on a detailed analysis of scheduling and operational issues which will accurately predict the effectiveness of those platforms for the intended missions.

Group members:


Locating Lubricant Distribution Centers for Mobil Oil

Mobil Oil Corporation produces a variety of lubricants at three refineries in the United States. A large quantity of these lubricants are sold in Canada, but it is not efficient to ship products directly from the US refineries to the Canadian customers. Instead, Mobil would like to set up a (relatively small) number of distribution centers which would act as intermediaries between the refineries and the customers. The goal of this project is to determine the optimal number and location of distribution centers, so as to improve efficiency and to reduce costs.

Group members: