Apparatus, method and program for making plan

Abstract

To determine at the same time a design of an interim product and an assignment of manufacture of interim products to a plurality of casts.SOLUTION: An apparatus for making a plan (1) comprises a planning section (30) that determines at the same time assignment of a plurality of iron steel products to a plurality of interim products and assignment of the plurality of interim products to a plurality of casts. The planning section (30) determines an assignment plan satisfying restriction conditions including a restriction condition on the assignment of the iron steel products to the interim products and a restriction condition on the assignment of the interim products to the casts, based on an evaluation value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a planning device, a planning method, and a planning program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a cast organization method for creating a cast in a continuous casting process in the steel industry, which includes a step of creating a cast by steel type that satisfies constraints for the steel type with the highest production priority. Patent Document 3 discloses a strip placement method that, when creating a strip placement plan for filling orders with multiple steel billets, lists all possible combinations under equipment constraints, etc., and selects, from the combinations, a steel billet that maximizes a target evaluation function under constraints on the number of orders. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-037806 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-140420 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-276034 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 optimize the cast formation in continuous casting. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 optimizes the cutting plan assuming that intermediate products such as slabs are produced by continuous casting. In other words, Patent Documents 1 to 3 do not simultaneously design intermediate products such as slabs and allocate the production of the intermediate products to multiple casts.

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to simultaneously determine the design of an intermediate product and the allocation of the production of the intermediate product to multiple casts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a planning device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a planning device that plans an allocation plan for a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products manufactured by a plurality of casts through continuous casting, and includes a planning unit that simultaneously determines the allocation of the plurality of steel products to the plurality of intermediate products and the allocation of the plurality of intermediate products to the plurality of casts, and the planning unit determines the allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints regarding the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and constraints regarding the allocation of intermediate products to casts, based on a first evaluation value that evaluates the allocation plan.

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a planning method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a planning method executed by a planning device to plan an allocation plan for a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products manufactured by a plurality of casts through continuous casting, the planning method including a planning step of simultaneously determining the allocation of the plurality of steel products to the plurality of intermediate products and the allocation of the plurality of intermediate products to the plurality of casts, and in the planning step, the allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints regarding the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and constraints regarding the allocation of intermediate products to casts is determined based on a first evaluation value that evaluates the allocation plan.

[0008] The planning device according to each aspect of the present disclosure may be realized by a computer. In this case, the planning program of the planning device that realizes the planning device on a computer by causing the computer to operate as each part (software element) of the planning device, and the computer-readable recording medium on which it is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the design of the intermediate product and the allocation of the production of the intermediate product to multiple casts can be determined simultaneously. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a planning device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a slab. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart showing an example of an overall processing flow of a planning method executed by the planning device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] [Embodiment 1] In the steel manufacturing process, pig iron produced in a blast furnace is transported to a converter, where the composition is adjusted in ladle (charge) units. The molten steel is then poured into a tundish, where it is continuously cast and cut to produce intermediate products such as slabs, blooms, and billets. This continuous casting and cutting process is called the continuous casting process. In the continuous casting process, a cast is a unit (production lot) in which intermediate products are continuously produced without interrupting the continuous casting of molten steel. One cast contains one or more charges. Multiple intermediate products are produced from one cast in a single continuous operation. Each intermediate product has a composition and size according to a customer's order. A grouping of compositional compositions according to a specified tolerance range is called a steel grade.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a planning device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The planning device 1 illustrated in Fig. 1 creates a plan to manufacture a plurality of steel products by allocating the production of a plurality of intermediate products produced by continuous casting to a plurality of casters.

[0013] 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 21, an input unit 22, a communication unit 23, and an output unit 24. The units (components) of the planning device 1 can exchange data with each other via a system bus SB.

[0014] The control unit 10 is a control device that controls the entire planning device 1, and is, for example, one or more processors, and various types of processors such as an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) can be used.

[0015] The memory unit 21 is a storage device that at least temporarily stores various types of information. The memory unit 21 stores a planning program executed by the control unit 10, order information related to orders for the manufacture of steel products, and cast information related to multiple casts. The order information includes information related to the dimensions, number, and delivery date of the steel products requested to be manufactured. The order information also includes information related to the weight of the steel products requested to be manufactured, or information that can be used to calculate the weight of the steel products, such as density and steel type. The cast information includes the number of casts that can be used to manufacture the ordered material, the dimensions of each cast, the casting amount of each cast, and the steel type.

[0016] The input unit 22 accepts input operations to the planning device 1. The input unit 22 is, for example, a keyboard and a mouse. The communication unit 23 communicates with other devices via a network. The communication performed by the communication unit 23 may be wireless communication or wired communication. The planning device 1 may be connected to an output device 2, such as a display device, via the output unit 24 so as to be able to communicate information via wire or wireless.

[0017] The following describes the case where a production plan is created to produce a slab, one of the intermediate products. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a slab. An order requesting the production of steel products 51, 52, 53, and 54 is assigned to the slab 50 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the length direction, width direction, and thickness direction are defined for the slab 50 and the steel products 51, 52, 53, and 54. The order information includes information on the dimensions and steel type of the steel products 51, 52, 53, and 54.

[0018] The control unit 10 shown in Fig. 1 functions as a planning unit 30 by executing a planning program stored in the memory unit 21. The planning unit 30 simultaneously determines the allocation of a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products and the allocation of a plurality of intermediate products to a plurality of casts. The planning unit determines an allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints on the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and constraints on the allocation of intermediate products to casts, based on an evaluation value that evaluates the allocation plan.

[0019] Here, "simultaneously determining" means that the determination of the allocation of multiple steel products to multiple intermediate products and the determination of the allocation of multiple intermediate products to multiple casts are completed by a single execution of the planning program, and it is not necessary to determine these allocations in a single predetermined process based on the planning program.

[0020] Constraints on the allocation of steel products to intermediate products include constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products. Constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products include, for example, constraints on the cost of the intermediate products, productivity of the intermediate products, delivery time, production efficiency, etc. The productivity of the intermediate products is, for example, the number of intermediate products to be manufactured, the time required to roll the intermediate products, etc. The delivery time is, for example, the weight-weighted average number of days of residence from the rolling date to the scheduled shipping date, etc.

[0021] Constraints on the allocation of intermediate products to casts include constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of casting. Constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of casting include, for example, at least one of the cost, yield, and delivery time related to casting. In addition, constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of casting may include, for example, a maximum limit on the total excess cost due to material reuse for each cast or a limit on the amount of warehouse inventory due to early production for each cast.

[0022] A more detailed description will be given of an example of the processing performed by the planning unit 30. The planning unit 30 illustrated in FIG.

[0023] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires order information and cast information from the storage unit 21. The information acquisition unit 11 may acquire only order information for which the time until delivery is within a predetermined period of time, or may acquire only order information for which the steel products to be manufactured have the same plate thickness. The information acquisition unit 11 may also cause the output unit 24 to output the order information and cast information stored in the storage unit 21, and acquire order information and cast information specified by the user using the input unit 22.

[0024] The candidate generator 12 generates one or more candidate combinations of multiple intermediate products and multiple steel products that satisfy at least some of the constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products based on the order information. The candidate generator 12 generates one or more candidate combinations of multiple steel products included in each of the multiple intermediate products that can be allocated to multiple casts, so as to satisfy at least some of the constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products, based on, for example, the order information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11. The candidate combinations of multiple steel products included in each of the multiple intermediate products that can be allocated to multiple casts are referred to as candidate combinations. The candidate combinations include, for example, multiple orders requesting the production of steel products. For example, the candidate combinations for producing the slab 50 shown in FIG. 2 include orders requesting the production of each of the steel products 51, 52, 53, and 54. At least some of the constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products include, for example, that the thickness dimensions are the same, that the combination is a steel type whose composition can be adjusted within the allowable range of the steel type specified in the order, and that the length dimension of the slab does not exceed a predetermined threshold. The candidate generator 12 may generate combination candidates that further satisfy conditions other than the constraints regarding the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate product.

[0025] The allocation determination unit 13 determines combinations of multiple casts and candidate combinations that satisfy constraints related to the feasibility or efficiency of the casts. For example, the allocation determination unit 13 determines candidate combinations to be assigned to each of multiple casts from among the candidate combinations generated by the candidate generation unit 12 so as to satisfy at least the constraints related to the feasibility or efficiency of the casts. The allocation determination unit 13 assigns one or more candidate combinations to one or more charges included in each cast. The allocation determination unit 13 can assign the same candidate combination multiple times to one cast, or can assign the same candidate combination to multiple casts. The allocation determination unit 13 may also determine candidate combinations to be assigned to each of multiple casts from among the candidate combinations generated by the candidate generation unit 12 so as to satisfy further constraints other than the constraints related to the feasibility or efficiency of the casts, such as the feasibility conditions of intermediate products. The allocation determination unit 13 uses a linear optimization solver, such as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) solver, to find a way to assign candidate combinations that satisfy specified constraints. The allocation determination unit 13 will be described in detail later.

[0026] The order specifying unit 14 determines, for each of the multiple casts, the order of production of the intermediate products corresponding to the combination candidates assigned by the allocation determining unit 13. The order specifying unit 14 determines, for example, the order of production of the slabs in ascending or descending order of the dimension in a predetermined direction of the slabs to be produced.

[0027] (Allocation decision unit) The allocation determination unit 13 will be described in detail below. In the following description, the set of identification numbers i of combination candidates included in multiple cast allocation candidates will be referred to as I, and a combination candidate whose identification number i is included in set I will be referred to as combination candidate i. The set of identification numbers j of orders included in the order information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 will be referred to as J, and an order whose identification number j is included in set J will be referred to as order j. The set of identification numbers k of multiple cast members included in the cast information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 will be referred to as K, and multiple cast members whose identification number k is included in set K will be referred to as cast k.

[0028] The allocation determination unit 13 uses an optimization technique to determine one or more candidate combinations i to be assigned to each of the multiple casts k included in set K from among the candidate combinations i included in set I. Hereinafter, the candidate combinations i assigned to each of the multiple casts k included in set K will be referred to as allocation candidates. For the candidate combinations i included in set I, the allocation determination unit 13 designs the intermediate product based on information about the cast dimensions included in the cast information. The allocation determination unit 13 evaluates allocation plans that satisfy predetermined constraints and determines an allocation candidate based on the evaluation value. The predetermined constraints include, for example, constraints related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate product and constraints related to the feasibility or efficiency of the cast. The allocation determination unit 13 calculates a predetermined objective function (evaluation value) and determines an allocation candidate that minimizes the objective function. The objective function includes, for example, an evaluation term related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate product and an evaluation term related to the feasibility or efficiency of the cast. The evaluation term related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate product includes, for example, at least one of the cost of the intermediate product, the productivity of the intermediate product, and the delivery date. The cost of the intermediate product is, for example, the weight of the discarded portion of the intermediate product that does not become a steel product, excess alloy cost, etc. The productivity of the intermediate product is, for example, the number of intermediate products produced, the time required to roll the intermediate product, etc. The delivery date is, for example, the weight-weighted average number of days of residence from the rolling date to the scheduled shipping date, etc. The feasibility or efficiency of casting includes, for example, at least one of the cost, yield, and delivery date related to casting.

[0029] (constraint conditions) The allocation determination unit 13 determines the optimum allocation candidate from among the allocation candidates that satisfy the constraints of the following expressions (1) to (3).

number

number

[0030]

number

[0031] The constraints in equations (1) and (2) are not constraints on the feasibility and efficiency of intermediate products, nor on the feasibility and efficiency of casts. The left-hand side of equations (1) and (2) represents the number of orders j that can be allocated to multiple casts k in the allocation candidate. Therefore, equations (1) and (2) indicate that the number of orders j that can be allocated to multiple casts k in the allocation candidate is the minimum number of orders j that can be processed Nl j Maximum number of processes Nu j This constraint means that the number of steel products ordered for order j must not exceed the number of orders j in multiple casts. If order j is an urgent order, the minimum number of orders to be processed is Nl j and maximum number of processes Nu j and are both equal to the number of orders j. In this case, in the optimal allocation candidate determined by the allocation determination unit 13, the steel products requested to be manufactured in urgent orders j whose delivery period is less than a predetermined period are manufactured in the number of orders j.

[0032] Equation (3) is an example of a constraint condition related to the feasibility of casting, and indicates a constraint condition that the total weight of the combination candidate i assigned to each of the multiple casts k in the allocation candidate does not exceed the casting amount of that cast k. By including equation (3) in the constraint condition, the allocation determination unit 13 does not determine, as the optimal solution, an allocation candidate that exceeds the weight that can be cast with the multiple casts k.

[0033] (Objective function) The optimal allocation candidate determined by the allocation determination unit 13 is the one that minimizes the value of the objective function (an example of the first evaluation value) shown in the following equation (4).

number

[0034] The second term of formula (4) evaluates the yield of each of the multiple casts k. The second term of formula (4) has a larger evaluation value as the number of parts that are cast in cast k but do not become intermediate products due to reasons such as being discarded increases.

[0035] (Overall processing flow) 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the overall processing flow of the planning method executed by the planning device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 10 of the planning device 1 functions as the information acquisition unit 11 and acquires order information and cast information from the storage unit 21 (S100).

[0036] Next, the control unit 10 of the planning device 1 functions as a candidate generation unit 12 and generates all candidate combinations of orders to be allocated to slabs that satisfy predetermined constraints, based on the order information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 (S200).

[0037] Next, the control unit 10 of the planning device 1 functions as the allocation determination unit 13 and determines a combination candidate to be allocated to each of the multiple cast members from among the combination candidates generated by the candidate generation unit 12 (S300). That is, the control unit 10 determines an allocation candidate that satisfies the constraints of equations (1)-(3) and minimizes the value of equation (4) using a linear optimization solver such as an MILP solver (S300).

[0038] Next, the control unit 10 functions as the order specification unit 14 and determines the processing order of one or more combination candidates assigned to each of the multiple casts in S300 (S400). That is, it determines the slab production order corresponding to the combination candidates assigned to each of the multiple casts by the allocation determination unit 13. The determined slab production order is output to the output device 2 via the output unit 24 under the control of the control unit 10, for example, and provided to the user of the planning device 1.

[0039] [Embodiment 2] A second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals will be used to designate components having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0040] In the planning device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, when the allocation determination unit 13 determines optimal allocation candidates, the processing load of a finishing process, which is a process other than the casting process and rolling process of intermediate products among the steel manufacturing processes, is taken into consideration. The finishing process is, for example, a process related to surface treatment or heat treatment of products after the rolling process. In the following description, the set of identification numbers l of finishing processes executed in the manufacturing of steel products is referred to as L, and a finishing process whose identification number l is included in the set L is referred to as finishing process l.

[0041] (constraint conditions) In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation determination unit 13 determines the optimal allocation candidate from among the allocation candidates that satisfy the constraints of the following formula (5) in addition to the constraints of the above formulas (1) to (3). The constraints of formula (5) are an example of constraints related to the efficiency of intermediate products.

number

[0042] [Embodiment 3] A third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. In the planning device 1 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure, when the allocation determination unit 13 determines the optimal allocation candidate, the excess alloy cost due to the reuse of material for cast k is taken into consideration. The excess alloy cost due to the reuse of material for cast k is the cost resulting from substituting a higher-cost alloy for a lower-cost alloy that would otherwise be sufficient.

[0043] (constraint conditions) In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation determination unit 13 determines the optimal allocation candidate from among the allocation candidates that satisfy the constraints of the following formula (6) in addition to the constraints of the above formulas (1) to (3). The constraint of formula (6) is an example of a constraint related to the efficiency of casting.

number

[0044] (Objective function) In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, an evaluation term shown in formula (7) may be further added to the objective function calculated by the allocation determination unit 13. The evaluation term shown in formula (7) is an example of an evaluation term related to the efficiency of the intermediate product.

number

[0045] [Embodiment 4] A fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. In the planning device 1 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, when the allocation determination unit 13 determines the optimal allocation candidate, the upper limit of the total excess warehouse inventory cost due to early production for each cast k is taken into consideration. The excess warehouse inventory cost is a quantified value of the degree to which inventory of intermediate products or steel products puts pressure on the product warehouse due to early production of those products.

[0046] (constraint conditions) In the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation determination unit 13 determines the optimal allocation candidate from among the allocation candidates that satisfy the constraints of the following formula (8) in addition to the constraints of the above formulas (1) to (3). The constraint of formula (8) is an example of a constraint related to the efficiency of casting.

number

[0047] [Embodiment 5] A fifth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. In the planning device 1 according to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of charges of cast k is variable for each cast k. In this case, the constraint of formula (3) is replaced by the constraints of formula (9) and formula (10) shown below. The constraint of formula (9) is an example of a constraint on slab efficiency, and is also an example of a constraint on casting efficiency. The constraint of formula (10) is an example of a constraint on slab efficiency, and is also an example of a constraint on casting efficiency. y k ≦CU k ∀k …(9) y k ≦CL k ∀k …(10) where y k is the number of charges for cast k. k is the upper limit of the number of charges for cast k. k is the lower limit of the number of charges for cast k.

[0048] Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation determination unit 13 determines an optimal allocation candidate from among allocation candidates that satisfy the constraints of the following equations (11)-(16) in addition to the constraints of the above-described equations (1), (2), (9), and (10). The constraint of equation (11) is an example of a constraint on the efficiency of casting. The constraint of equation (12) is an example of a constraint on the efficiency of intermediate products. The constraint of equation (13) is an example of a constraint on the efficiency of casting. The constraint of equation (14) is an example of a constraint on the efficiency of intermediate products.

number

number

[0049]

number

number

[0050] Equation (13) shows a constraint that the sum of the weights of steel products produced in cast k is equal to or greater than the lower limit value shown on the right side of equation (13). Equation (14) shows a constraint that the sum of the weights of steel products produced in multiple casts is equal to or greater than the lower limit value shown on the right side of equation (14).

[0051]

number

number

[0052] [Embodiment 6] A sixth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. The planning unit 30 in the planning device 1 according to the sixth embodiment simultaneously determines the allocation of a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products and the allocation of a plurality of intermediate products to a plurality of casts, for example, by using a metaheuristic method such as a local search or a genetic algorithm to solve a planning problem including all necessary constraints and objective functions.

[0053] When determining the allocation of intermediate products to multiple casts k using a genetic algorithm, for example, the following process is performed. The control unit 10 functions as the candidate generation unit 12 in the sixth embodiment and randomly generates combination candidates i. The allocation determination unit 13 in the sixth embodiment generates current-generation allocation candidates from the combination candidates i generated by the candidate generation unit 12, and calculates the fitness of the current-generation allocation candidates using a predetermined evaluation function. Here, the predetermined evaluation function is an example of an objective function. The allocation determination unit 13 performs crossover, mutation, or copying on allocation candidates selected from the current-generation allocation candidates to generate next-generation allocation candidates. When the number of next-generation allocation candidates reaches a predetermined number, the allocation determination unit 13 transfers the next-generation allocation candidates to the current-generation allocation candidates. The allocation determination unit 13 repeats the process for a predetermined number of generations and outputs, as a solution, the allocation candidate of the predetermined generation that satisfies constraints including constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products and constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the casts and has the highest fitness.

[0054] (Variation) In the above embodiment, the order information and cast information are stored in the memory unit 21 of the planning device 1. However, the memory unit in which the order information and cast information are stored does not have to be the memory unit 21 provided in the planning device 1. For example, it may be an external memory medium connected to the planning device 1 via the communication unit 23. When the order information and cast information are stored in a memory medium external to the planning device 1, the information acquisition unit 11 may acquire the order information and cast information via the communication unit 23.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the allocation determination unit 13 determines the allocation candidate that minimizes the value of the objective function shown in equation (4) as the optimal allocation candidate. However, the objective function is not limited to the one shown in equation (4). For example, the allocation determination unit 13 may determine the optimal allocation candidate using an objective function that increases the evaluation value as the allocation candidate approaches the optimal solution.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the planning unit 30 uses a linear optimization solver such as an MILP solver or a metaheuristic method to create an allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate product and constraints on the feasibility or efficiency of the cast. However, the method by which the planning unit 30 creates an allocation plan based on an evaluation value for evaluating the allocation plan is not limited to a method using an optimization technique.

[0057] For example, the allocation determination unit 13 may terminate the optimization process when a predetermined number (one or more) of combination candidates that satisfy predetermined constraints and have objective function values within a predetermined range are found from among the combination candidates generated by the candidate generation unit 12, or may retain a predetermined number of combination candidates with the highest objective function values and formulate an allocation plan from among those combination candidates.

[0058] In the above-described embodiments 1 to 4, the allocation determination unit 13 determines an optimal allocation candidate from among allocation candidates that satisfy at least the constraints of formulas (1) to (3). However, the constraints used in the optimization method by the allocation determination unit 13 are not limited to those including formulas (1) to (3). For example, the constraints used in the optimization method by the allocation determination unit 13 may include at least one of formulas (1) to (3). In the above-described embodiments 2 to 4, the constraints used in the optimization method by the allocation determination unit 13 may include at least one of formulas (5), (6), and (8). In the above-described embodiment 5, the constraints used in the optimization method by the allocation determination unit 13 may include at least one of formulas (1), (2), and (9) to (16). In the above-described embodiments 1 to 5, the constraints used in the optimization method by the allocation determination unit 13 are not limited to those shown in formulas (1) to (3), (5), (6), and (8) to (16). For example, constraints on the upper and lower limits of the weight of order j processed at cast k, constraints on the dimensions of intermediate products, constraints on the unit weight of intermediate products, etc. may be further included.

[0059] In the above embodiment, as shown in formulas (4) and (7), the objective function calculated by the allocation determination unit 13 includes an evaluation term related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate product and an evaluation term related to the feasibility or efficiency of the cast. However, it is sufficient that the objective function calculated by the allocation determination unit 13 includes at least one of an evaluation term related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate product and an evaluation term related to the feasibility or efficiency of the cast.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the candidate generation unit 12 generates one or more candidates for combinations of a plurality of intermediate products and a plurality of steel products that satisfy at least some of the constraint conditions related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products. The candidate generation unit 12 may further calculate an evaluation value (an example of a second evaluation value) related to the constraint conditions related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products for combinations of a plurality of intermediate products and a plurality of steel products that satisfy at least some of the constraint conditions related to the feasibility or efficiency of the intermediate products, and generate only candidates for which the evaluation value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0061] [Software implementation example] The functions of the planning device (hereinafter referred to as the "device") can be realized by a program that causes a computer to function as the device, and a program that causes a computer to function as each control block of the device (particularly each part included in the control unit 10).

[0062] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The control device and storage device execute the program, thereby realizing the functions described in each of the above embodiments.

[0063] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0064] In addition, some or all of the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, integrated circuits in which logic circuits that function as each of the control blocks are formed are also included in the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the functions of each of the control blocks can also be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0065] 〔summary〕 A planning device in aspect 1 of the present disclosure is a planning device that plans an allocation plan for a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products manufactured by a plurality of casts through continuous casting, and includes a planning unit that simultaneously determines the allocation of the plurality of steel products to the plurality of intermediate products and the allocation of the plurality of intermediate products to the plurality of casts, and the planning unit determines the allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints regarding the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and constraints regarding the allocation of intermediate products to casts, based on a first evaluation value that evaluates the allocation plan.

[0066] According to the above configuration, the planning device can simultaneously determine the design of the intermediate product and the allocation of the production of the intermediate product to multiple casts. Conventionally, when the design of the intermediate product is performed without considering the existence of multiple casts, there is a risk of an order being selected in the design of the intermediate product but not actually being allocated to any of the casts. According to the above configuration, the design of the intermediate product is performed according to each of the multiple casts, so that an order that is not actually allocated to any of the casts does not occur, and the amount of parts that are cast but do not become intermediate products can be reduced.

[0067] Furthermore, when performing cast knitting so that all of the target intermediate products can be manufactured, conventionally, when performing cast knitting after obtaining an optimal solution for the blank removal problem, the number of charges required may increase or excess material may increase, but the above configuration can reduce the possibility of such a situation occurring.

[0068] In the planning device of aspect 2 of the present disclosure, in aspect 1, the planning unit has an information acquisition unit that acquires order information for the plurality of steel products and cast information for the plurality of casts, a candidate generation unit that generates one or more candidate combinations of the plurality of intermediate products and the plurality of steel products based on the order information, which satisfy at least some of the constraints regarding the allocation of steel products to the intermediate products, and an allocation determination unit that determines, from the one or more candidates generated by the candidate generation unit, a combination of the plurality of casts and the candidate that satisfies the constraints regarding the allocation of intermediate products to the cast, based on the first evaluation value.

[0069] According to the above configuration, the planning device determines a solution that satisfies the constraints on the allocation of intermediate products to casts from one or more candidate combinations of multiple intermediate products and multiple steel products that satisfy predetermined constraints on the allocation of steel products to intermediate products. In other words, cast formation is performed from one or more candidates, such as multiple candidates with high evaluation values, among possible solutions to the cutting-edge problem. This makes it possible to simultaneously determine a solution with a high evaluation value, such as an optimal solution that takes into account both the design of the intermediate products and the formation of multiple casts, more efficiently than by solving a planning problem that includes all of the constraints and objective functions, including the predetermined constraints on the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and the constraints on the allocation of intermediate products to casts, using an optimization method.

[0070] In the planning device of aspect 3 of the present disclosure, in aspect 2, the planning unit further has an order determination unit that determines the manufacturing order of the multiple intermediate products among the candidates assigned by the allocation determination unit for each of the multiple casts.

[0071] According to the above configuration, the planning device can further simultaneously determine the manufacturing sequence of the intermediate products in each cast.

[0072] In the planning device of aspect 4 of the present disclosure, in aspect 2 or 3, the candidate generation unit calculates a second evaluation value related to a constraint condition regarding the allocation of steel products to the intermediate products from among the one or more candidates, and generates candidates whose second evaluation value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0073] According to the above configuration, the planning device uses a candidate generation unit, which is located before the allocation determination unit, to eliminate candidates with small second evaluation values, so that only candidates with high second evaluation values are processed by the allocation determination unit. This allows the number of candidates input to the allocation determination unit to be appropriately reduced, and it is expected that the time required for processing by the allocation determination unit will not be significantly longer than with local search, etc. This is effective because the number of candidates generated by the candidate generation unit can increase exponentially depending on the scale of the problem.

[0074] A planning device according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure is any one of the second to fourth aspects, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires steel products having the same dimensions or delivery date.

[0075] A planning method in aspect 6 of the present disclosure is a planning method executed by a planning device to plan an allocation plan for a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products manufactured by a plurality of continuous casting casts, and includes a planning step of simultaneously determining the allocation of the plurality of steel products to the plurality of intermediate products and the allocation of the plurality of intermediate products to the plurality of casts, and in the planning step, the allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints regarding the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and constraints regarding the allocation of intermediate products to casts is determined based on a first evaluation value that evaluates the allocation plan.

[0076] According to the above configuration, the planning method can simultaneously determine the design of intermediate products and the allocation of their production to multiple casts. Conventionally, when intermediate products are designed without considering the existence of multiple casts, there is a risk of orders being selected in the design of the intermediate products but not actually being allocated to any of the casts. With the above configuration, intermediate products are designed to suit each of multiple casts, so that orders that are not actually allocated to any of the casts are not generated, thereby reducing the amount of parts that are cast but do not become intermediate products. Furthermore, when performing cast formation so that all target intermediate products can be manufactured, conventionally, when performing cast formation after obtaining an optimal solution to the blank placement problem, the number of required charges increases or excess material increases. However, the above configuration reduces the possibility of such situations.

[0077] A planning program according to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as the planning device according to claim 1, and causes the computer to function as the planning unit.

[0078] [Additional notes] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1 Planning Device 10 Control Unit 11 Information acquisition department 12 Candidate generation section 13 Allocation Decision Unit 14 Sequence identification part 21 Memory section 30 Planning Department 50 Slabs (intermediate products) 51, 52, 53, 54 Steel products

Claims

1. A planning device that prepares an allocation plan for a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products produced by a plurality of continuous castings, a planning unit that simultaneously determines an allocation of the plurality of steel products to the plurality of intermediate products and an allocation of the plurality of intermediate products to the plurality of casts, The planning unit is a planning device that determines the allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints regarding the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and constraints regarding the allocation of intermediate products to casts, based on a first evaluation value that evaluates the allocation plan.

2. The planning unit an information acquisition unit that acquires order information of the plurality of steel products and cast information regarding the plurality of casts; a candidate generator that generates, based on the order information, one or more candidates for combinations of the plurality of intermediate products and the plurality of steel products that satisfy at least a part of constraints regarding allocation of steel products to the intermediate products; an allocation determination unit that determines, from among the one or more candidates generated by the candidate generation unit, a combination of the plurality of cast members and the candidate that satisfies a constraint regarding allocation of intermediate products to the cast members based on the first evaluation value; The planning device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

3. The planning device according to claim 2 , wherein the planning unit further comprises a sequence specifying unit that determines, for each of the plurality of casts, a manufacturing sequence of the plurality of intermediate products in the candidates assigned by the assignment determining unit.

4. 3. The planning device according to claim 2, wherein the candidate generation unit calculates a second evaluation value related to a constraint condition regarding the allocation of steel products to the intermediate products from among the one or more candidates, and generates candidates whose second evaluation value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

5. The planning device according to claim 2 , wherein the information acquisition unit acquires steel products having the same dimensions or delivery dates.

6. A planning method executed by a planning device for planning an allocation plan of a plurality of steel products to a plurality of intermediate products produced by a plurality of casts that are continuously cast, the planning method comprising: a planning step of simultaneously determining an allocation of the plurality of steel products to the plurality of intermediate products and an allocation of the plurality of intermediate products to the plurality of casts; In the planning step, the allocation plan that satisfies constraints including constraints regarding the allocation of steel products to intermediate products and constraints regarding the allocation of intermediate products to casts is determined based on a first evaluation value that evaluates the allocation plan.

7. 2. A program for causing a computer to function as the planning device according to claim 1, the program causing a computer to function as the planning unit.

Images