Lectures of the Institute of Production Management

• Optimization problems and methods
• Modeling practical optimization problems
• Implementation of mathematical programs
• Python/LaTeX

This seminar covers basic models and algorithms of operations management at the bachelor's level and provides practice in writing a paper in preparation for a bachelor's thesis at the Institute for Production Management.

Will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Examiner: Prof. Dr. Helber

This course treats fundamental aspects of algebraic modeling and using optimization methods in operations research. Students are introduced to the improving search paradigm, in particular over convex feasible sets. The simplex search for linear programming models is covered, including a first treatment of duality of LP models. With respect to discrete problems, the basic elements of the branch&bound method are introduced. We further study column generation and elements of Branch-and-Price or Bender's decomposition.The GAMS modeling language is used in modeling exercises.

Rardin, R. L.: Optimization in Operations Research, 2. Edition 2016 (Pearson)

The supplementary (optional) exercise accompanies the lecture on Operations Research. Selected problems and tasks from the text book by Rardin (2016) are used to practice the lecture's methods and algorithms.

The course covers various operational decision-making problems in the design of industrial production processes in the field of material goods production. These include, in particular, issues relating to the planning of overtime and inventory levels, the planning of batch sizes and sequences, and production control. The conceptual foundations of various approaches to production planning and control are also covered.

A detailed script will be provided during the course.

The course requires a broad knowledge of basic quantitative methods, which are taught in the course “Operations Research.” It is therefore strongly recommended to take this course beforehand or at the same time.

The course covers selected topics from the field of economics that are required for working on the project within the framework of ‘Kooperatives Produkt’ (KPE).
The topics are selected according to the requirements of the current KPE project and the participants' knowledge background and wishes. Possible topics include:

• Production optimisation
• Logistics
• Investment calculation
• Process planning
• Marketing
• Cost and revenue accounting
• Cost management
• Product management

Towards the end of the course, individual group consultation hours on economic issues relating to the KPE can also be offered.
In addition, trial presentations for the interim and final presentations of the KPE will take place.

• Helber: Operations Management Tutorial (2020, 2. Auflage), Verlag: Stefan Helber
• Meffert, Burmann, Kirchgeorg: Marketing: Grundlagen marktorientierter Unternehmensführung; Konzepte - Instrumente - Praxisbeispiele (2012, 11. Auflage), Gabler Verlag.
• Friedl, Hofmann, Pedell: Kostenrechnung: eine entscheidungsorientierte Einführung (2010), Vahlen Verlag.
• Günther, Tempelmeier: Produktion und Logistik (2012, 12. Auflage), Springer Verlag.
• Domschke, Drexl: Einführung in Operations Research (2011, 8. Auflage), Springer Verlag.
• Kuhner, Maltry: Unternehmensbewertung (2017, 2. Auflage), Springer Verlag.

The number of participants is limited. The selection process will be carried out by the IPH (Institute for Integrated Production Hannover). The examination number is: 23710. The course is held in German only.

As part of the Operations Management colloquium, students who are writing their thesis in the area Operations Management present their progress during the course of their work. In addition, open questions regarding methodology and content can be discussed during the course of the work. Furthermore, the institute's researchers report on ongoing research projects, in particular doctoral projects, as part of this colloquium.

The seminar covers current scientific publications in the aforementioned field. As part of the course, students are typically required to implement algebraic decision models addressing problems in operations management using Python and Gurobi or GAMS, and to analyze them experimentally.

Will be given at the beginning of the semester.

There will be a combined lecture and exercise covering the following topics:

• Python and Visual Studio Code
• Git and UV
• Selection and structure of suitable data structures
• Object-oriented programming
• Implementation of algorithms
• Mathematical models in gurobipy
• Profiling and debugging methods
• Data analysis with pandas
• Visualisation with matplotlib

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Course registration: The number of participants is limited to 21. Applications for the course must be submitted via the Institute's website by Tuesday, 13 October. Particular consideration will be given to any courses you have already taken at the Institute of Production Management during your Bachelor's and Master's degrees, as well as your Bachelor's thesis. Any remaining places will be allocated during the first lecture.

Examination format: The examination consists of three assignments (programming tasks) during the semester, which are completed in groups, plus three oral examinations. The groups are randomly reassigned after each programming task.

Advanced project & credit: Building on this course, the advanced course “Implementation of OM Models and Methods in Python – Advanced Project” can be taken in the same semester, which includes another assignment. Students in the “Industrial Engineering” program can alternatively have the combination of these two courses credited as “Scientific Computing” (10 LP).

Building on the course “Implementation of OM Models and Methods in Python,” this course aims to deepen students' knowledge of programming with Python. To this end, students will work independently in groups to complete a task from the field of operations research and write an assignment on it.

Prerequisites: The course can only be taken in combination with the lecture “Implementation of OM Models and Methods in Python” in the same semester.

Credits as scientific computing: Students in the “Engineering and Business Administration” program can alternatively have the combination of “Implementation of OM Models and Methods in Python” and “Implementation of OM Models and Methods in Python - Advanced Project” credited as “Scientific Computing” (10 LP).

The subject of the course is the development of forecasting methods, in particular for the demand for goods and services over time, which form the basis for operational planning, such as the production program, or provide a basis for personnel planning. For this purpose, regression models are constructed using Python, which accurately reflect past observation data and can thus be interpreted as a model of the data-generating process. In these models, particular emphasis is placed on modeling the impact of influencing factors such as advertising measures, which are subject to operational decisions.

Lecture notes are availabe, as well as 20 copies of Francis X. Diebold's textbook, Elements of Forecasting, 4th edition, 2007, at the TIB library.

This course requires programming skills in Python and a high degree of independence in your work.

Exam date: Tuesday, February 2, 2027, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Exercise sheets for these group exercises will be made available for download on Stud.IP each week, for each lecture date and topic.

• Helber, Stefan: Operations Management Tutorial, 2. Aufl. 2020

There are group exercises that are known as ‘learning rooms’. Students can work on exercises there and tutors are available to answer any questions they may have. In addition, there are group exercises in which the solutions to the exercises are presented. There are also Ilias tests that students can use to check whether their solutions are correct.

The course introduces the decision-making problems involved in designing operations processes and structures . It covers both the production of goods and the provision of services. The focus is on quantitative modeling of the key business relationships.

• Helber, Stefan: Operations Management Tutorial, 2. Aufl. 2020

A series of video clips explaining numerous lecture topics is available for this course. There is also a “Tutorial on Operations Management,” course number 270048. It serves to clarify any open questions that may have arisen while working on the weekly exercises.

This seminar covers basic models and algorithms of operations management at the bachelor's level and provides practice in writing a paper in preparation for a bachelor's thesis at the Institute for Production Management.

Will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Examiner: Prof. Dr. Helber

This course explains the methods and rules of scientific work. In addition, the course offers the opportunity to discuss specific questions, particularly with regard to seminar papers and bachelor's theses.

The materials are provided in the course "Seminar- und Abschlussarbeiten am Institut für Produktionswirtschaft”.

The course is recommended for anyone attending a seminar or writing a bachelor's thesis at the Institut für Produktionswirtschaft. It is not possible to earn ECTS credits.

The materials are made available via Stud.IP.

In the area of production logistics, we cover process analysis methods used to evaluate inventories, throughput times, and throughput rates, as well as methods for analyzing the performance of push vs. pull systems in production control. This is followed by inventory management methods in single-period and multi-period cases for individual products and aggregated warehouses as a whole. Furthermore, in the area of distribution logistics, issues of location planning and the planning of transports, round trips, and tours are covered.

Helber, Stefan: Operations Management Tutorial. Grundlagen der Modellierung und Analyse der betrieblichen Wertschöpfung. Hildesheim, 2. Auflage 2020

As part of the Operations Management colloquium, students who are writing their thesis in the area Operations Management present their progress during the course of their work. In the "Engineering and Business Administration" program, the presentations on the bachelor's theses are graded. In addition, open questions regarding methodology and content can be discussed during the course of the work. Furthermore, the institute's researchers report on ongoing research projects, in particular doctoral projects, as part of this colloquium.

This course explains the methods and rules of scientific work. In addition, the course offers the opportunity to discuss specific questions, particularly with regard to seminar papers and bachelor's theses.

The materials are provided in the course "Seminar- und Abschlussarbeiten am Institut für Produktionswirtschaft”.

The course is recommended for anyone attending a seminar or writing a bachelor's thesis at the Institut für Produktionswirtschaft. It is not possible to earn ECTS credits.

The materials are made available via Stud.IP.

This advanced Operations Research course centers around both the theoretical justification and the implementation of Branch-Cut-and-Price algorithms using the SCIP framework from the Zuse-Institut at the Technical University of Berlin. Implementation work will be done in C++. The course builds on the introductory course on Operations Research for first-semester Master's students and is intended as a methodological foundation for a Master's thesis in Operations Management. It requires substantial programming work and leads to a technical expertise which is highly valuable on the job market. This is a course for students with a good math and programming background interested in research in Operations Management.

Students in the "Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen" program can also participate in this course to gain credit points ("Leistungspunkte") for the module "Scientific Computing (10 LP)"!

Master’s students on the Engineering and Business Administration programme should note that only a non-editable registration is possible and that different registration forms must be used:

• Elective module “Operations Research II – Advanced Methods of Linear and Integer Programming” (376052) in the Information and Operations Management competence area:
  Registration form https://www.uni-hannover.de/fileadmin/luh/content/pruefungsamt/formulare/wiing/Anmeldung_HA-SL_MSc_WiIng_PO_2018_Stand1125_-_Formular.pdf
  or
• Compulsory module "Scientific Computing" in the "Technical Fundamentals" competence area:
  Registration form https://www.uni-hannover.de/fileadmin/luh/content/pruefungsamt/formulare/wiing/Scientific_Computing_neu.pdf

Im Seminar werden aktuelle wissenschaftliche Publikationen aus dem genannten Themenbereich behandelt. Dabei sind in der Regel algebraische Entscheidungsmodelle zu Problemen des Operations Management mit Python und Gurobi oder mit GAMS zu implementieren und experimentell zu analysieren.

Literatur wird zum Beginn der Veranstaltung bekanntgegeben.