Patent ID: 7668744

Claim:
A method for generating a plurality of structurally different solutions using recovery operations, the method comprising the steps of: periodically loading schedule data into a plurality of optimization engines, each engine in communication via a computer network and configured to optimize disposition of one or more resources corresponding to the engine; each of the optimization engines preprocessing the loaded schedule data and a plurality of user-specified penalty value costs to predefine one or more penalty value costs associated with disposition of the one or more resources associated with the engine; receiving a disruption specification and request for rescheduling from a user; one or more of the optimization engines generating a plurality of solutions, the generating performed in a plurality of phases by: in a first phase, reducing one or more of the penalty value costs predefined by the engines to flatten a cost space for a neighborhood of possible schedules, and, using a first local search algorithm, traversing the flattened cost space to find a first local minimum representing a relaxed cost solution; and in a second phase, reinstating the one or more reduced penalty value costs to restore the cost space, and using a second local search algorithm, searching the restored cost space from the relaxed cost solution to find one or more second local minima representing one or more solutions for evaluation; one or more of the optimization engines evaluating the one or more solutions for evaluation generated by another of the engines, the evaluating performed relative to one or more resource-specific rules of the evaluating optimization engine underlying the one or more penalty value costs; and based on the evaluating, updating the schedule data.