Hierarchical planning in a single stage system

Single stage systems with high set-up times and high utilization levels occur in flow process industries. In this paper a two-tiered hierarchical model is developed for such a system. At the top level, the optimal value of the control parameters is determined, while the operational scheduling function is performed at the bottom level. The conceptual aggregation approach used in this model is compared to the aggregation approach used in classical hierarchical approaches.