A relational database approach to a linear programming-based decision support system for production planning in secondary wood product manufacturing

Secondary manufacturers in the forest products industry face a complex production planning process. Linear programming (LP)-based applications have addressed this production planning issue. However, most models have been developed for a specific plant configuration and cannot readily be applied to others. A relational database approach was used to create an integrated linear programming-based decision support system that can be used to analyze production planning issues in a wide variety of secondary wood product manufacturers. The flexibility of the resultant system indicated the potential to analyze production strategies in the highly dynamic environment characteristic of secondary manufacturers.