Preface: Mathematics of Industrial Systems III

The goal of the series "Mathematics of Industrial Systems" (MIS) is to describe and promote the role of applied mathematics in industrial systems. In particular, the publication focuses on discrete models and combinatorial solution approaches in industry, where the term industry should be understood in a broad sense.The third volume of this series contains fourteen contributions. The papers describe successful applications of mathematics to applied problems and propose new solution procedures. Two papers deal with interesting applications in telecommunication, namely network synthesis problems and frequency assignment for cellular phone networks. Further articles describe an efficient routing of helicopters for crew exchange, stowage planning for container ships, and mathematical tools in airline schedule planning. Several papers deal with aspects of production processes, starting from dynamic facility layout and the design and operation of AGV-served manufacturing systems, via matching of assembly operations, material planning and tool allocation to certain aspects of scheduling problems.Many people have helped in the preparation of this third volume of MIS. In particular, we would like to thank the referees for their careful work and thoughtful remarks. Their efforts substantially improved the quality of this volume. Moreover, our appreciation is due to Mrs. Nelly Segal, RUTCOR, for providing much help to the editors and for handling editorial matters in such an excellent way.The fourth volume of this series is already in preparation. Submissions for this or another forthcoming volume in the series can be sent to any of the editors. Moreover, comments and proposals for future volumes are welcome and appreciated by the editors. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1998