A Genetic Algorithm-based Approach to Scheduling of Batch Production with Maximum Profit

The optimal scheduling of multi-product batch process is studied and a new mathematics model targeting the maximum profit is proposed, which can be solved by the modified genetic algorithm (MGA) with mixed coding (sequence coding and decimal coding) developed by us. In which, the partially matched cross over (PMX) and reverse mutation are used for the sequence coding, whereas the arithmetic crossover and heteropic mutation are used for the decimal coding. In addition, the relationship between production scale and production cost is analyzed and the maximum profit is always a trade-off of the production scale and production cost. Two examples are solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.

A Heuristic Genetic Algorithm for No-Wait Flowshop Scheduling Problem

No-wait flowshop scheduling problems with the objective to minimize the total flow time is an important se-quencing problem in the field of developing production plans and has a wide engineering background. Genetic algo-rithm (GA) has the capability of global convergence and has been proven effective to solve NP-hard combinatorial op-timization problems,while simple heuristics have the advantage of fast local convergence and can be easily imple-mented. In order to avoid the defect of slow convergence or premature,a heuristic genetic algorithm is proposed by in-corporating the simple heuristics and local search into the traditional genetic algorithm. In this hybridized algorithm,the structural information of no-wait flowshops and high-effective heuristics are incorporated to design a new method for generating initial generation and a new crossover operator. The computational results show the developed heuristic ge-netic algorithm is efficient and the quality of its solution has advantage over the best known algorithm. It is suitable for solving the large scale practical problems and lays a foundation for the application of meta-heuristic algorithms in in-dustrial production.

RECONFIGURABLE PRODUCTION LINE MODELING AND SCHEDULING USING PETRI NETS AND GENETIC ALGORITHM

In response to the production capacity and functionality variations, a genetic algorithm （GA） embedded with deterministic timed Petri nets（DTPN） for reconfigurable production line（RPL） is proposed to solve its scheduling problem. The basic DTPN modules are presented to model the corresponding variable structures in RPL, and then the scheduling model of the whole RPL is constructed. And in the scheduling algorithm, firing sequences of the Petri nets model are used as chromosomes, thus the selection, crossover, and mutation operator do not deal with the elements in the problem space, but the elements of Petri nets model. Accordingly, all the algorithms for GA operations embedded with Petri nets model are proposed. Moreover, the new weighted single-objective optimization based on reconfiguration cost and E/T is used. The results of a DC motor RPL scheduling suggest that the presented DTPN-GA scheduling algorithm has a significant impact on RPL scheduling, and provide obvious improvements over the conventional scheduling method in practice that meets duedate, minimizes reconfiguration cost, and enhances cost effectivity.

Genetic algorithm for short-term scheduling of make-and-pack batch production process

This paper considers a scheduling problem in industrial make-and-pack batch production process. This process equips with sequence-dependent changeover time, multipurpose storage units with limited capacity, storage time, batch splitting, partial equipment connectivity and transfer time. The objective is to make a production plan to satisfy all constraints while meeting demand requirement of packed products from various product families. This problem is NP-hard and the problem size is exponentially large for a realistic-sized problem. Therefore,we propose a genetic algorithm to handle this problem. Solutions to the problems are represented by chromosomes of product family sequences. These sequences are decoded to assign the resource for producing packed products according to forward assignment strategy and resource selection rules. These techniques greatly reduce unnecessary search space and improve search speed. In addition, design of experiment is carefully utilized to determine appropriate parameter settings. Ant colony optimization and Tabu search are also implemented for comparison. At the end of each heuristics, local search is applied for the packed product sequence to improve makespan. In an experimental analysis, all heuristics show the capability to solve large instances within reasonable computational time. In all problem instances, genetic algorithm averagely outperforms ant colony optimization and Tabu search with slightly longer computational time.

Modeling and Optimisation of Precedence-Constrained Production Sequencing and Scheduling for Multiple Production Lines Using Genetic Algorithms

This paper presents an integrated methodology for the modelling and optimisation of precedence-constrained production sequencing and scheduling for multiple production lines based on Genetic Algorithms （GA）. The problems in this class are NP-hard combinatorial problems, requiring a triple optimisation at the same time： allocation of resources to each line, production sequencing and production scheduling within each production line. They are ubiquitous to production and manufacturing environments. Due to nature of constraints, the length of solutions for the problem can be variable. To cope with this variability, new strategies for encoding chromosomes, crossover and mutation operations have been developed. Robustness of the proposed GA is demonstrated by a complex and realistic case study.

Modeling the Scheduling Problem in Cellular Manufacturing Systems Using Genetic Algorithm as an Efficient Meta-Heuristic Approach

This paper presents a new,bi-criteria mixed_integer programming model for scheduling cells and pieces within each cell in a manufacturing cellular system.The objective of this model is to minimize the makespan and intercell movements simultaneously,while considering sequence-dependent cell setup times.In the cellular manufacturing systems design and planning,three main steps must be considered,namely cell formation(i.e,piece families and machine grouping),inter and intra-cell layouts,and scheduling issue.Due to the fact that the cellular manufacturing systems problem is NP-Hard,a genetic algorithm as an efficient meta-heuristic method is proposed to solve such a hard problem.Finally,a number of test problems are solved to show the efficiency of the proposed genetic algorithm and the related computational results are compared with the results obtained by the use of an optimization tool.

INTEGRATED OPERATOR GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR SOLVING MULTI-OBJECTIVE FLEXIBLE JOB-SHOP SCHEDULING

In the flexible job-shop scheduling problem （FJSP）, each operation has to be assigned to a machine from a set of capable machines before alocating the assigned operations on all machines. To solve the multi-objective FJSP, the Grantt graph oriented string representation （GOSR） and the basic manipulation of the genetic algorithm operator are presented. An integrated operator genetic algorithm （IOGA） and its process are described. Comparison between computational results and the latest research shows that the proposed algorithm is effective in reducing the total workload of all machines, the makespan and the critical machine workload.

A Multi-Object Genetic Algorithm for the Assembly Line Balance Optimization in Garment Flexible Job Shop Scheduling

Numerous clothing enterprises in the market have a relatively low efficiency of assembly line planning due to insufficient optimization of bottleneck stations.As a result,the production efficiency of the enterprise is not high,and the production organization is not up to expectations.Aiming at the problem of flexible process route planning in garment workshops,a multi-object genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the assembly line bal-ance optimization problem and minimize the machine adjustment path.The encoding method adopts the object-oriented path representation method,and the initial population is generated by random topology sorting based on an in-degree selection mechanism.The multi-object genetic algorithm improves the mutation and crossover operations according to the characteristics of the clothing process to avoid the generation of invalid offspring.In the iterative process,the bottleneck station is optimized by reasonable process splitting,and process allocation conforms to the strict limit of the station on the number of machines in order to improve the compilation efficiency.The effectiveness and feasibility of the multi-object genetic algorithm are proven by the analysis of clothing cases.Compared with the artificial allocation process,the compilation efficiency of MOGA is increased by more than 15%and completes the optimization of the minimum machine adjustment path.The results are in line with the expected optimization effect.

Sequencing Mixed-model Production Systems by Modified Multi-objective Genetic Algorithms

As two independent problems,scheduling for parts fabrication line and sequencing for mixed-model assembly line have been addressed respectively by many researchers.However,these two problems should be considered simultaneously to improve the efficiency of the whole fabrication/assembly systems.By far,little research effort is devoted to sequencing problems for mixed-model fabrication/assembly systems.This paper is concerned about the sequencing problems in pull production systems which are composed of one mixed-model assembly line with limited intermediate buffers and two flexible parts fabrication flow lines with identical parallel machines and limited intermediate buffers.Two objectives are considered simultaneously：minimizing the total variation in parts consumption in the assembly line and minimizing the total makespan cost in the fabrication/assembly system.The integrated optimization framework,mathematical models and the method to construct the complete schedules for the fabrication lines according to the production sequences for the first stage in fabrication lines are presented.Since the above problems are non-deterministic polynomial-hard（NP-hard）,a modified multi-objective genetic algorithm is proposed for solving the models,in which a method to generate the production sequences for the fabrication lines from the production sequences for the assembly line and a method to generate the initial population are put forward,new selection,crossover and mutation operators are designed,and Pareto ranking method and sharing function method are employed to evaluate the individuals＇ fitness.The feasibility and efficiency of the multi-objective genetic algorithm is shown by computational comparison with a multi-objective simulated annealing algorithm.The sequencing problems for mixed-model production systems can be solved effectively by the proposed modified multi-objective genetic algorithm.

Job shop scheduling problem with alternative machines using genetic algorithms

The classical job shop scheduling problem(JSP) is the most popular machine scheduling model in practice and is known as NP-hard.The formulation of the JSP is based on the assumption that for each part type or job there is only one process plan that prescribes the sequence of operations and the machine on which each operation has to be performed.However,JSP with alternative machines for various operations is an extension of the classical JSP,which allows an operation to be processed by any machine from a given set of machines.Since this problem requires an additional decision of machine allocation during scheduling,it is much more complex than JSP.We present a domain independent genetic algorithm(GA) approach for the job shop scheduling problem with alternative machines.The GA is implemented in a spreadsheet environment.The performance of the proposed GA is analyzed by comparing with various problem instances taken from the literatures.The result shows that the proposed GA is competitive with the existing approaches.A simplified approach that would be beneficial to both practitioners and researchers is presented for solving scheduling problems with alternative machines.

Optimization Method for Departure Flight Scheduling Problem Based on Genetic Algorithm

Except for the bad weather or other uncontrollable reasons,a reasonable queue of departure and arrival flights is one of the important methods to reduce the delay on busy airports.Here focusing on the Pareto optimization of departure flights,the take-off sequencing is taken as a single machine scheduling problem with two objective functions,i.e.,the minimum of total weighted delayed number of departure flights and the latest delay time of delayed flight.And the integer programming model is established and solved by multi-objective genetic algorithm.The simulation results show that the method can obtain the better goal,and provide a variety of options for controllers considering the scene situation,thus improving the flexibility and effectivity of flight plan.

Solving flexible job shop scheduling problem by a multi-swarm collaborative genetic algorithm

The flexible job shop scheduling problem(FJSP),which is NP-hard,widely exists in many manufacturing industries.It is very hard to be solved.A multi-swarm collaborative genetic algorithm(MSCGA)based on the collaborative optimization algorithm is proposed for the FJSP.Multi-population structure is used to independently evolve two sub-problems of the FJSP in the MSCGA.Good operators are adopted and designed to ensure this algorithm to achieve a good performance.Some famous FJSP benchmarks are chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of the MSCGA.The adaptability and superiority of the proposed method are demonstrated by comparing with other reported algorithms.

Simultaneous scheduling of machines and automated guided vehicles in flexible manufacturing systems using genetic algorithms

The problem of simultaneous scheduling of machines and vehicles in flexible manufacturing system (FMS) was addressed.A spreadsheet based genetic algorithm (GA) approach was presented to solve the problem.A domain independent general purpose GA was used,which was an add-in to the spreadsheet software.An adaptation of the propritary GA software was demonstrated to the problem of minimizing the total completion time or makespan for simultaneous scheduling of machines and vehicles in flexible manufacturing systems.Computational results are presented for a benchmark with 82 test problems,which have been constructed by other researchers.The achieved results are comparable to the previous approaches.The proposed approach can be also applied to other problems or objective functions without changing the GA routine or the spreadsheet model.

An Improved Genetic Algorithm for Solving the Mixed⁃Flow Job⁃Shop Scheduling Problem with Combined Processing Constraints

The flexible job-shop scheduling problem(FJSP)with combined processing constraints is a common scheduling problem in mixed-flow production lines.However,traditional methods for classic FJSP cannot be directly applied.Targeting this problem,the process state model of a mixed-flow production line is analyzed.On this basis,a mathematical model of a mixed-flow job-shop scheduling problem with combined processing constraints is established based on the traditional FJSP.Then,an improved genetic algorithm with multi-segment encoding,crossover,and mutation is proposed for the mixed-flow production line problem.Finally,the proposed algorithm is applied to the production workshop of missile structural components at an aerospace institute to verify its feasibility and effectiveness.

Genetic Algorithm Based on Duality Principle for Bilevel Programming Problem in Steel-making Production

Steel-making and continuous/ingot casting are the key processes of modern iron and steel enterprises. Bilevel programming problems(BLPPs) are the optimization problems with hierarchical structure. In steel-making production, the plan is not only decided by the steel-making scheduling, but also by the transportation equipment.This paper proposes a genetic algorithm to solve continuous and ingot casting scheduling problems. Based on the characteristics of the problems involved, a genetic algorithm is proposed for solving the bilevel programming problem in steel-making production. Furthermore, based on the simplex method, a new crossover operator is designed to improve the efficiency of the genetic algorithm. Finally, the convergence is analyzed. Using actual data the validity of the proposed algorithm is proved and the application results in the steel plant are analyzed.

A dual population multi-operator genetic algorithm for flight deck operations scheduling problem

It is of great significance to carry out effective scheduling for the carrier-based aircraft flight deck operations.In this paper,the precedence constraints and resource constraints in flight deck operations are analyzed,then the model of the multi-aircraft integrated scheduling problem with transfer times(MAISPTT)is established.A dual population multi-operator genetic algorithm(DPMOGA)is proposed for solving the problem.In the algorithm,the dual population structure and random-key encoding modified by starting/ending time of operations are adopted,and multiple genetic operators are self-adaptively used to obtain better encodings.In order to conduct the mapping from encodings to feasible schedules,serial and parallel scheduling generation scheme-based decoding operators,each of which adopts different justified mechanisms in two separated populations,are introduced.The superiority of the DPMOGA is verified by simulation experiments.

Multi-objective Collaborative Optimization for Scheduling Aircraft Landing on Closely Spaced Parallel Runways Based on Genetic Algorithms

A scheduling model of closely spaced parallel runways for arrival aircraft was proposed,with multi-objections of the minimum flight delay cost,the maximum airport capacity,the minimum workload of air traffic controller and the maximum fairness of airlines′scheduling.The time interval between two runways and changes of aircraft landing order were taken as the constraints.Genetic algorithm was used to solve the model,and the model constrained unit delay cost of the aircraft with multiple flight tasks to reduce its delay influence range.Each objective function value or the fitness of particle unsatisfied the constrain condition would be punished.Finally,one domestic airport hub was introduced to verify the algorithm and the model.The results showed that the genetic algorithm presented strong convergence and timeliness for solving constraint multi-objective aircraft landing problem on closely spaced parallel runways,and the optimization results were better than that of actual scheduling.

Method for electromagnetic detection satellites scheduling based on genetic algorithm with alterable penalty coefficient

The electromagnetic detection satellite （EDS） is a type of earth observation satellites （EOSs）. The Information collected by EDSs plays an important role in some fields, such as industry, science and military. The scheduling of EDSs is a complex combinatorial optimization problem. Current research mainly focuses on the scheduling of imaging satellites and SAR satellites, but little work has been done on the scheduling of EDSs for its specific characteristics. A multi-satellite scheduling model is established, in which the specific constrains of EDSs are considered, then a scheduling algorithm based on the genetic algorithm （GA） is proposed. To deal with the specific constrains of EDSs, a penalty function method is introduced. However, it is hard to determine the appropriate penalty coefficient in the penalty function. Therefore, an adaptive adjustment mechanism of the penalty coefficient is designed to solve the problem, as well as improve the scheduling results. Experimental results are used to demonstrate the correctness and practicability of the proposed scheduling algorithm.

Improving performance of open-pit mine production scheduling problem under grade uncertainty by hybrid algorithms

One of the surface mining methods is open-pit mining,by which a pit is dug to extract ore or waste downwards from the earth’s surface.In the mining industry,one of the most significant difficulties is long-term production scheduling(LTPS)of the open-pit mines.Deterministic and uncertainty-based approaches are identified as the main strategies,which have been widely used to cope with this problem.Within the last few years,many researchers have highly considered a new computational type,which is less costly,i.e.,meta-heuristic methods,so as to solve the mine design and production scheduling problem.Although the optimality of the final solution cannot be guaranteed,they are able to produce sufficiently good solutions with relatively less computational costs.In the present paper,two hybrid models between augmented Lagrangian relaxation(ALR)and a particle swarm optimization(PSO)and ALR and bat algorithm(BA)are suggested so that the LTPS problem is solved under the condition of grade uncertainty.It is suggested to carry out the ALR method on the LTPS problem to improve its performance and accelerate the convergence.Moreover,the Lagrangian coefficients are updated by using PSO and BA.The presented models have been compared with the outcomes of the ALR-genetic algorithm,the ALR-traditional sub-gradient method,and the conventional method without using the Lagrangian approach.The results indicated that the ALR is considered a more efficient approach which can solve a large-scale problem and make a valid solution.Hence,it is more effectual than the conventional method.Furthermore,the time and cost of computation are diminished by the proposed hybrid strategies.The CPU time using the ALR-BA method is about 7.4%higher than the ALR-PSO approach.