A linear-programming-based method for determining whether or not n demand points are on a hemisphere

Whenever n demand points are located on a hemisphere, spherical location problems can be solved easily using geometrical methods or mathematical programming. A method based on a linear programming formulation with four constraints is presented to determine whether n demand points are on a hemisphere. The formulation is derived from a modified minimax spherical location problem whose Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions are the constraints of the linear program. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The reliability of a series system of repairable subsystems: A bayesian approach

Consider the problem of estimating the reliability of a series system of (possibly) repairable subsystems when test data and historical information are available at the component, subsystem, and system levels. Such a problem is well suited to a Bayesian approach. Martz, Waller, and Fickas [Technometrics, 30 , 143–154 (1988)] presented a Bayesian procedure that accommodates pass/fail (binomial) data at any level. However, other types of test data are often available, including (a) lifetimes of nonrepayable components, and (b) repair histories for repairable subsystems. In this article we describe a new Bayesian procedure that accommodates pass/fail, life, and repair data at any level. We assume a Weibull model for the life data, a censored Weibull model for the pass/fail data, and a power-law process model for the repair data. Consequently, the test data at each level can be represented by a two-parameter likelihood function of a certain form, and historical information can be expressed using a conjugate family of prior distributions. We discuss computational issues, and use the procedure to analyze the reliability of a vehicle system. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Designing and pricing menus of extended warranty contracts

Extended warranties provide “piece of mind” to a consumer in that product failures which occur after the base warranty expires are rectified at little or no cost. They also provide an additional source of revenue for manufacturers or third‐party providers, such as retailers or insurance providers, and help cultivate consumer loyalty. In this article, we analyze a number of extended warranty contracts which differ in design, including restrictions on deferrals and renewals. With the use of dynamic programming, we compute the optimal strategy for a consumer with perfect information and determine the optimal pricing policy for the provider given the consumer's risk characterization. We also provide insight into when different contracts should be issued. Finally, we illustrate how profits can be dramatically increased by offering menus of warranty contracts, as opposed to stand alone contracts, with the use of integer programming. Surprisingly, risk‐taking consumers provide the greatest benefit to offering menus. These insights can help a company develop a comprehensive warranty planning strategy for given products or product lines. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2009     

The orienteering problem

Orienteering is a sport in which start and end points are specified along with other locations. These other locations have associated scores. Competitors seek to visit, in a fixed amount of time, a subset of these locations on the way from the start point to the end point in order to maximize the total score. An effective center-of-gravity heuristic is presented that outperforms heuristics from the literature.     

Estimation from binomial data with classifiers of known and unknown imperfections

Observations from inspection by a “test” method and a standard method are combined to provide estimators of population proportion, and of probabilities of misclassification for the test method. Results of Hochberg and Tenenbein [3] and of Albers and Veldman [1] are extended to the case where the standard method is not perfect, but its misclassification probabilities have known values. Both moment and maximum-likelihood estimators are considered and some asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators are compared.