Abstract: A network is given whose edges need to be constructed (or restored after a disaster). The lengths of edges represent the required construction/restoration times given available resources, and one unit of length of the network can be constructed per unit of time. All points of the network are accessible for construction at any time. For each pair of vertices, a due date is given. It is required to find a construction schedule that minimizes the maximum lateness of all pairs of vertices, where the lateness of a pair is the difference between the time when the pair becomes connected by an already constructed path and the pair's due date. We introduce the problem and analyze its structural properties, present a mixed-integer linear programming formulation, develop a number of lower bounds that are integrated in a branch-and-bound algorithm, and discuss results of computational experiments both for instances based on randomly generated networks and for instances based on 2010 Chilean earthquake data.

Abstract: We introduce and motivate several variants of the bin packing problem where bins are assigned to time slots, and minimum and maximum lags are required between some pairs of items. We suggest two integer programming formulations for the general problem: a compact one and a stronger formulation with an exponential number of variables and constraints. We propose a branch-cut-and-price approach that exploits the latter formulation. For this purpose, we devise separation algorithms based on a mathematical characterization of feasible assignments for two important special cases of the problem: when the number of possible bins available at each period is infinite and when this number is limited to one and time lags are nonnegative. Computational experiments are reported for instances inspired from a real-case application of chemical treatment planning in vineyards, as well as for literature instances for special cases of the problem. The experimental results show the efficiency of our branch-cutand-price approach, as it outperforms the compact formulation on newly proposed instances and is able to obtain improved lower and upper bounds for literature instances. Summary of Contribution: The paper considers a new variant of the bin packing problem, which is one of the most important problems in operations research. A motivation for introducing this variant is given, as well as a real-life application. We present a novel and original exact branch-cut-and-price algorithm for the problem. We implement this algorithm, and we present the results of extensive computational experiments. The results show a very good performance of our algorithm. We give several research directions that can be followed by subsequent researchers to extend our contribution to more complex and generic problems.