Internship | Optimization of Manufacturing Systems

About this position

Manufacturing systems are production facilities consisting of multiple machines that together fulfill customer jobs. A challenge in the optimization of manufacturing systems is finding an allocation of a batch of customer jobs to the available equipment that leads to the quickest completion given all constraints regarding shared resource usage, sequence-dependent set-up times, travel times, etc.

What will be your role?

There are many ways to allocate a batch of jobs to a manufacturing system’s equipment. As brute-force design space exploration of this optimization space is not feasible, one has to use more intelligent methods.

A first goal of this assignment is to define generic methods to specify these allocation optimization spaces. A good optimization space specification should be complete enough to serve as a useful abstraction for finding solutions, but also general and flexible enough to accommodate different manufacturing systems with their own specific constraints.

A second goal is defining methods to smartly search the optimization space without (greatly) affecting the quality of the solutions found. These methods may include heuristics to eliminate parts of the optimization space (decision diagrams, branch and bound, dominance rules, partial order reduction) and efficient heuristics or machine learning approaches to find solutions to kickstart the exploration of the optimization space.

The developed methods are to be validated using industrial case studies. Production lines involving Canon’s professional printers and (third-party) finishing equipment, like stackers and booklet makers, will serve as one of the industrial cases to demonstrate and evaluate the developed methods.

The assignment will (partially) be carried out at the facilities of TNO’s ESI department, which is located at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.

What we expect from you

You are a Master student in Computer Science, Mathematics or Electrical Engineering looking for a graduation assignment of 6-9 months. You have knowledge of performance modelling and/or optimization techniques. Moreover, you would like your graduation assignment to show the benefits of scientific system development methods in a high-tech organization.

What you'll get in return

You want to work on the precursor of your career; a work placement gives you an opportunity to take a good look at your prospective future employer. TNO goes a step further. It’s not just looking that interests us; you and your knowledge are essential to our innovation. That’s why we attach a great deal of value to your personal and professional development. You will, of course, be properly supervised during your work placement and be given the scope for you to get the best out of yourself. Naturally, we provide suitable work placement compensation.

TNO as an employer

At TNO, we innovate for a healthier, safer and more sustainable life. And for a strong economy. Since 1932, we have been making knowledge and technology available for the common good. We find each other in wonder and ingenuity. We are driven to push boundaries. There is all the space and support for your talent and ambition. You work with people who will challenge you: who inspire you and want to learn from you. Our state-of-the-art facilities are there to realize your vision. What you do at TNO matters: impact makes the difference. Because with every innovation you contribute to tomorrow’s world.

At TNO we encourage an inclusive work environment, where you can be yourself. Whatever your story and whatever unique qualities you bring to the table. It is by combining our unique strengths and perspectives that we are able to develop innovations that make a real difference in society.