A Linear Programming Approach to Scheduling Nuclear Isotope Production

This paper reports on the design, implementation and use of a model for scheduling the production of nuclear isotopes. The model is formulated as a multiple-period linear programming problem with several classes of product demand, inventory and production level constraints. An important feature of the model is its role in managing in-process inventories over the extended period of time required for the production of certain isotopes. Considerable discussion is given to practical issues surrounding the model implementation and the model’s many production and marketing applications.