As part of a university-wide survey conducted in cooperation with the Sustainability Office, the current commuting patterns of all members of the University of Hamburg are being recorded in detail and analyzed, with a particular focus on bicycle use.

This thesis examines the various factors influencing the duration of the boarding process and analyzes the common mathematical approaches to its optimization. The focus is on the systematic investigation and critical evaluation of existing models in order to compare theoretical approaches with real-world patterns in passenger behavior. The aim of this thesis is to clearly demonstrate the strengths and limitations of existing optimization approaches.

Mathematical models for calculating the optimal boarding sequence make an important contribution to improving efficiency in air travel; however, human behavior is difficult to predict. This thesis analyzes the key behavioral variables that significantly influence actual boarding times. It examines which mathematical methods and approaches can be used to model factors such as passenger grouping, baggage stowage, or individual passenger delays.
Furthermore, the thesis addresses the question of which additional parameters or methodological extensions could be used to model human behavior more realistically. The thesis thus offers both a well-founded overview of the current state of research and valuable insights for the further development of theoretical optimization strategies.

In the production of different product categories, employees learn through repetition within a category but partially lose this advantage when switching to another category. This thesis focuses on a scheduling model that models and implements this effect using discrete product groups. In addition, various heuristic solution methods for different objective functions will be compared and analyzed.

This thesis uses qualitative expert interviews to examine the extent to which the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is used in project planning in today’s business practice. The goal is to identify the specific barriers to its application and to identify the factors that determine the success or failure of this planning method in real-world management.

This thesis includes a theoretical review of a relevant academic paper to provide a well-founded comparison of various delivery concepts, such as home delivery and parcel lockers. In addition, a market analysis of current cost structures is conducted to evaluate the economic implications of these delivery models for logistics service providers and their efficiency.

In production, employees become faster through repetition of similar tasks. However, when they switch to a different type of task, some of this learning progress is lost. This thesis examines how such learning and forgetting effects can be mathematically modeled and which sequence minimizes the total runtime. The focus is on how the similarity between different task types influences forgetting rates and, ultimately, the performance of the scheduling.

This thesis examines the rebalancing problem in the context of bike-sharing systems, with the goal of cost-minimizing the redistribution of rental bikes among bike stations. Following a theoretical analysis of the fundamental mathematical formulations of the various optimization models and benchmark instances, static and dynamic variants, as well as their solution approaches, are classified. Optionally, the optimization model can also be applied using empirical data from bike-sharing operators (e.g., StadtRAD) to simulate, for example, the need for redistribution and potential efficiency gains.

Based on a scientific paper, this thesis examines an increasingly relevant extension of the classic route planning problem, focusing on route planning for electric vehicles (EVs). Based on a given reference model, this thesis aims to provide a theoretical analysis of the most important model extensions, such as the consideration of partial charges, nonlinear charging curves, and hybrid vehicle fleets. Furthermore, the various extensions will be classified. The goal is to provide a structured overview of the mathematical modeling of route planning with electric vehicles.