A 0-1 Model for Solving the Corrugator Trim Problem

A new method for solving the corrugator trim problem is presented. This problem draws its name from the difficult task facing scheduling personnel in corrugator box plants each day: to determine the least-cost method of combining customer orders on the corrugator, where one of the major costs to avoid is waste or excess trim lost from the materials used. Trim loss, however, is only one of several major concerns. Others include corrugator width utilization, cutting pattern changes, avoidance of split orders, and so on. A full discussion of these factors and associated trade-offs is included in the paper. The solution procedure presented is capable of dealing with these and other trade-offs in a systematic manner. In particular, this approach eliminates the spreading of orders over several stock sizes, a characteristic which has plagued the linear programming-based procedures that have been proposed for solving the problem. This improved material handling characteristic of the solution is obtained through the controlled generation of solution elements. These elements then become potential activities to be scheduled by a 0-1 integer programming algorithm. The algorithm used is well suited to computers of moderate size and speed. In addition to solving the corrugator trim problem, the proposed method has sufficient flexibility to make it a useful vehicle for solving similar problems in other industries which manufacture such products as glass, steel, composition board, and furniture.