Editing Operations research (section)

==Problems addressed==
* [[Critical path analysis]] or [[project planning]]: identifying those processes in a multiple-dependency project which affect the overall duration of the project
* [[Floorplanning]]: designing the layout of equipment in a factory or components on a [[computer chip]] to reduce [[manufacturing]] time (therefore reducing cost)
* [[Telecommunications network|Network optimization]]: for instance, setup of telecommunications or power system networks to maintain quality of service during outages
* [[Resource allocation]] problems
* [[Optimal facility location|Facility location]]
* Assignment Problems:
** [[Assignment problem]]
** [[Generalized assignment problem]]
** [[Quadratic assignment problem]]
** [[Weapon target assignment problem]]
* [[Bayesian search theory]]: looking for a target
* [[Search theory|Optimal search]]
* [[Routing]], such as determining the routes of buses so that as few buses are needed as possible
* [[Supply chain management]]: managing the flow of raw materials and products based on uncertain demand for the finished products
* Project production activities: managing the flow of work activities in a capital project in response to system variability through operations research tools for variability reduction and buffer allocation using a combination of allocation of capacity, inventory and time<ref>"Factory Physics for Managers", E. S. Pound, J. H. Bell, and M. L. Spearman, McGraw-Hill, 2014, p 47</ref><ref>"New Era of Project Delivery – Project as Production System", R. G. Shenoy and T. R. Zabelle, Journal of Project Production Management, Vol 1, pp Nov 2016, pp. 13–24

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312602707_New_Era_of_Project_Delivery_-_Project_as_Production_System 
</ref>
* Efficient messaging and customer response tactics
* [[Automation]]: automating or integrating robotic systems in human-driven operations processes
* [[Globalization]]: globalizing operations processes in order to take advantage of cheaper materials, labor, land or other productivity inputs
* Transportation: managing [[freight]] transportation and delivery systems (Examples: [[less-than-truckload shipping|LTL shipping]], [[intermodal freight transport]], [[travelling salesman problem]], [[driver scheduling problem]])
* [[Scheduling (computing)|Scheduling]]:
** [[Nurse scheduling problem|Personnel staffing]]
** Manufacturing steps
** [[Project management|Project tasks]]
** Network data traffic: these are known as [[queueing model]]s or queueing systems.
** Sports events and their television coverage
* Blending of raw materials in oil refineries
* Determining optimal prices, in many retail and B2B settings, within the disciplines of [[pricing science]]
* [[Cutting stock problem]]: Cutting small items out of bigger ones.
* Finding the optimal parameter (weights) setting of an algorithm that generates the realisation of a [[figured bass]] in [[Baroque]] compositions (classical music) by using weighted local cost and transition cost rules

Operational research is also used extensively in government where [[evidence-based policy]] is used.