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The manufacturing systems’ success directly relates to their accurate, reliable and flexible schedules, including how production is planned and scheduled and which constraints are considered in generating the schedules. The study's objective arises from the need to generate an optimal production scheduling system in a connecting plates manufacturing company that works on a Make-To-Stock basis. This research investigates the impact of demand and operational constraints on production schedules, including the facility capacity, operators and machines availability, raw materials availability, inventory level and warehouse capacity. A multi-agent-based optimisation model is developed to face the complexity of considering demand and operational constraints and reflects their impact on generating a reliable production schedule. This model involves a proposed heuristic algorithm that considers demand and operations constraints in such a manufacturing environment and optimises the production schedule based on these restrictions/requirements. A real-life case study based on a connecting plates manufacturer company is used as a test bench of the proposed agent-based heuristic optimisation model. The proposed algorithm is compared with other related approaches to check its superiority based on key criteria, including inventory levels, missed/unsatisfied orders and total production time. Results show that the proposed heuristics algorithm reduced the number of missed orders by 34% compared with similar approaches.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that freelancing is neglected by researchers as a form of small business activity. It aims to consider whether it is possible and useful for researchers to distinguish freelancers from other types of small business owner.Design methodology approach - The paper does this in three ways: first, by conceptualising freelance status; second, by examining the research literature on freelance workers; and, third, by estimating the size of the UK freelance workforce to demonstrate their importance.Findings - The definition proposed permits identification of many types of freelancer hitherto neglected by researchers. Freelancers are a large and growing proportion of the UK business stock and the recent recession has led to a further expansion.Originality value - Given the size and distinctiveness of the freelance workforce, researchers might explore the similarities and differences between freelancers and other small business owners with regard to: their motivations for starting and continuing to operate on a freelance basis; experiences of business ownership and management; the heterogeneity of the freelance workforce; and the wider social, economic and political causes and consequences of freelance working.

President's foreword 2013 was the International Year of Statistics and what a year it was for the Society. The adoption of our long‐term strategy for 2014–2018 has provided a great energy boost, giving renewed focus to what we do. Many thanks are due to Andy Garrett and all the members of the Long Term Strategy Group for what they have done for us, drawing on the contributions of large numbers of Society members from around the world. Our future direction is summed up in the three words that now appear on our letterheads: ‘Data | Evidence | Decisions’. We are about putting data at the heart of understanding and decision making. After a period of declining numbers, we saw membership rise during the year. It was especially pleasing to see almost 100 lapsed members return to the Society—welcome back. Our conference in Newcastle drew over 400 people from 23 countries. There was a real buzz throughout, helped by the strong presence of members of the Young Statisticians Section. Our 12 Sections and 15 Local Groups held numerous meetings and we substantially raised our level of engagement at external events, including for the first time the political party conferences. 2013 has been a year that has seen us grow in numbers and in influence. Some highlights for me were the 10th anniversary of Significance magazine, the event we held with King's College London and Ipsos MORI on the ‘Perils of perception’, the closing conference at Errol Street for the International Year of Statistics and, of course, meeting so many members from such diverse backgrounds, all seeking to use statistics and statistical thinking to make an impact for the wider good of society and the economy. Our policy work has made a step change improvement. In the areas of schools education, higher education, official statistics, open access journals, open data, statistics and the law and in other fields, the Society has a voice that gets attention. The ‘getstats’ campaign has moved up a further gear during the year. The campaign's work with Parliamentarians and journalists has continued to grow. In the critical area of post‐16 years education, the publication of Roger Porkess's report on opportunities for statistics at A level in subjects outside mathematics has provided a new dimension to the evidence base with which to make our case. Academic affairs have had a busy year and, with Kevin McConway's leadership, we have been able to make common cause with our sister bodies in the Council for the Mathematical Sciences to establish a clearer position to support the long‐term future of the discipline. Our professional awards and qualifications continue to improve their standing among statisticians but, also, crucially with employers and others who recognize the importance of professionalism in statistical work. I chaired a session on professional qualifications at the International Statistical Institute conference and it was clear that people around the world look to the Society as a leader in this area. The growing success of our relationships with other statistical societies, notably Japan, is a mark of this and provides an excellent basis for the review of this area that is to take place in 2014. I have also been pleased this year to see the important improvements that have been made to the Society's communications work. The launch of StatsLife has given us a vibrant, readable and worthy successor to RSS News. Our social media profile has changed beyond all recognition over the last 12 months. Plans made in 2013 and now being implemented hold the prospect of an even more engaging Society in the year ahead. Do read the rest of this inspiring report. 2013 was an excellent year for the Society. I would like to thank all the Society's staff and the very many members who have given so much to make it so. John Pullinger

This paper is concerned with the responses of small firms to the effects of the 2008-2009 economic crisis and the implications for post-crisis recovery. The paper throws light on the implications of the different forms of adaptation undertaken by firms in 2008-2009 for their medium- and longer-term performance prospects. The methodology employed focuses on longitudinal case studies, based on in-depth interviews in 2011 with representatives of 18 small firms previously interviewed in 2009. An online survey of a larger group of businesses was also conducted. Detailed analysis of the cases emphasises the process, rather than one-off, nature of adjustment. Successful adjustment can rarely be equated with a specific strategic response to the economic downturn. It is heavily influenced by management behaviour prior to this, combined with an underlying resilience that stems from resources and experience. There is also evidence in some firms of entrepreneurial learning, adapting their behaviour in the light of experience.

This paper is concerned with the responses of small firms to the effects of the 2008-9 economic crisis and the implications for post-crisis recovery. The paper throws light on the implications of the different forms of adaptation undertaken by firms in 2008-9 for their medium- and longer-term performance prospects. The methodology employed focuses on longitudinal case studies, based on in-depth interviews in 2011with representatives of 18 small firms previously interviewed in 2009. An on-line survey of a larger group of businesses was also conducted. Detailed analysis of the cases emphasises the process, rather than one-off, nature of adjustment. Successful adjustment can rarely be equated with a specific strategic response to the economic downturn. It is heavily influenced by management behaviour prior to this, combined with an underlying resilience that stems from resources and experience. There is also evidence in some firms of entrepreneurial learning, adapting their behaviour in the light of experience.

This chapter is concerned with the effects of the economic crisis on UK SMEs and micro enterprises, the responses of firms to these effects and the implications for post-crisis recovery. The economic and financial crisis which hit the international economy in 2008-2009 presented major challenges to firms of all sizes, as well as opportunities. Compared with larger enterprises that control more substantial resources, small firms may be particularly vulnerable during periods of economic downturn and financial crisis. There are a priori reasons to expect smaller firms to be particularly vulnerable, because of a combination of resource-related constraints, low bargaining power in relation to a variety of stakeholders and a tendency to rely on bank credit on those occasions when external finance is used. In this context, the chapter seeks to assess the vulnerability hypothesis, based on an empirical study conducted in 2009.