Book excerpt: Understand common scheduling as well as other advanced operational problems with this valuable reference from a recognized leader in the field. Beginning with basic principles and an overview of linear and mixed-integer programming, this unified treatment introduces the fundamental ideas underpinning most modeling approaches, and will allow you to easily develop your own models. With more than 150 figures, the basic concepts and ideas behind the development of different approaches are clearly illustrated. Addresses a wide range of problems arising in diverse industrial sectors, from oil and gas to fine chemicals, and from commodity chemicals to food manufacturing. A perfect resource for engineering and computer science students, researchers working in the area, and industrial practitioners.