An improved constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network for job-shop scheduling

Copyright @ Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009This paper presents an improved constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network for job-shop scheduling problems. The neural network is constructed based on the constraint conditions of a job-shop scheduling problem. Its structure and neuron connections can change adaptively according to the real-time constraint satisfaction situations that arise during the solving process. Several heuristics are also integrated within the neural network to enhance its convergence, accelerate its convergence, and improve the quality of the solutions produced. An experimental study based on a set of benchmark job-shop scheduling problems shows that the improved constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network outperforms the original constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network in terms of computational time and the quality of schedules it produces. The neural network approach is also experimentally validated to outperform three classical heuristic algorithms that are widely used as the basis of many state-of-the-art scheduling systems. Hence, it may also be used to construct advanced job-shop scheduling systems.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/01 and in part by the National Nature Science Fundation of China under Grant 60821063 and National Basic Research Program of China under Grant 2009CB320601

A hybrid shifting bottleneck-tabu search heuristic for the job shop total weighted tardiness problem

In this paper, we study the job shop scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing the total weighted tardiness. We propose a hybrid shifting bottleneck - tabu search (SB-TS) algorithm by replacing the reoptimization step in the shifting bottleneck (SB) algorithm by a tabu search (TS). In terms of the shifting bottleneck heuristic, the proposed tabu search optimizes the total weighted tardiness for partial schedules in which some machines are currently assumed to have infinite capacity. In the context of tabu search, the shifting bottleneck heuristic features a long-term memory which helps to diversify the local search. We exploit this synergy to develop a state-of-the-art algorithm for the job shop total weighted tardiness problem (JS-TWT). The computational effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated on standard benchmark instances from the literature

A String of Disjoint Job Blocks on Two Stage Open Shop Scheduling with Transportation Time

This paper provides a heuristic algorithm for n jobs, 2-machine Open-shop scheduling problem in which Processing times are associated with their respective probabilities. The concepts of disjoint job block in a string and transportation time from one machine to another are also taken into consideration. The specific goal of the study is to obtain an optimal or near optimal String of jobs to minimize the makespan. The heuristic algorithm developed in this paper is very simple and easy to understand. A numerical illustration is provided to demonstrate the computational efficiency of proposed algorithm. Keywords: Open Shop Scheduling, Equivalent job, Disjoint  job block, Transportation Time

A New Approach in Job Shop Scheduling: Overlapping Operation

In this paper, a new approach to overlapping operations in job shop scheduling is presented. In many job shops, a customer demand can be met in more than one way for each job, where demand determines the quantity of each finished job ordered by a customer. In each job, embedded operations can be performed due to overlapping considerations in which each operation may be overlapped with the others because of its nature. The effects of the new approach on job shop scheduling problems are evaluated. Since the problem is well known as NP-Hard class, a simulated annealing algorithm is developed to solve large scale problems. Moreover, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) method is applied to validate the proposed algorithm. The approach is tested on a set of random data to evaluate and study the behavior of the proposed algorithm. Computational experiments confirmed superiority of the proposed approach. To evaluate the effect of overlapping considerations on the job shop scheduling problem, the results of classical job shop scheduling with the new approach (job shop scheduling problem with overlapping operations) are compared. It is concluded that the proposed approach can improve the criteria and machines utilization measures in job shop scheduling. The proposed approach can be applied easily in real factory conditions and for large size problems. It should thus be useful to both practitioners and researchers

A new neighborhood and tabu search for the blocking job shop

The Blocking Job Shop is a version of the job shop scheduling problem with no intermediate buffers, where a job has to wait on a machine until being processed on the next machine. We study a generalization of this problem which takes into account transfer operations between machines and sequence-dependent setup times. After formulating the problem in a generalized disjunctive graph, we develop a neighborhood for local search. In contrast to the classical job shop, there is no easy mechanism for generating feasible neighbor solutions. We establish two structural properties of the underlying disjunctive graph, the concept of closures and a key result on short cycles, which enable us to construct feasible neighbors by exchanging critical arcs together with some other arcs. Based on this neighborhood, we devise a tabu search algorithm and report on extensive computational experience, showing that our solutions improve most of the benchmark results found in the literature

Akış tipi çizelgeleme problemlerinin yapay bağışıklık sistemleri ile çözümünde yeni bir yaklaşım

The n-job, m-machine flow shop scheduling problem is one of the most general job scheduling problems. This study deals with the criteria of makespan minimization for the flow shop scheduling problem. Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) are new intelligent problem solving techniques that are being used in scheduling problems. AIS can be defined as computational systems inspired by theoretical immunology, observed immune functions, principles and mechanisms in order to solve problems. In this research, a computational method based on clonal selection principle and affinity maturation mechanisms of the immune response is used. The operation parameters of meta-heuristics have an important role on the quality of the solution. Thus, a generic systematic procedure which bases on a multi-step experimental design approach for determining the efficient system parameters for AIS is presented. Experimental results show that, the artificial immune system algorithm is more efficient than both the classical heuristic flow shop scheduling algorithms and simulated annealing.n iş m makina akış tipi iş çizelgeleme problemi en genel iş çizelgeleme problemlerinden biridir. Bu çalışma akış tipi çizelgeleme problemi için toplam tamamlanma zamanı minimizasyonu ile ilgilenmektedir. Yapay Bağışıklık Sistemleri (YBS), çizelgeleme problemlerinde son dönemlerde kullanılan yeni bir problem çözme tekniğidir. YBS, doğal bağışıklık sisteminin prensiplerini ve mekanizmalarını kullanarak problemlere çözüm üreten bir hesaplama sistemidir. Bu çalışmada, bağışıklık tepkisinin iki ayrı mekanizması olan klonel seçim prensibi ve benzerlik mekanizması üzerine kurulmuş bir metod kullanılmıştır. Meta sezgisel yöntemlerde seçilen operatörler, çözüm kalitesi üzerinde önemli bir role sahiptir. Bu nedenle, yapay bağışıklık sisteminin etkin parametrelerinin belirlenmesinde çok aşamalı bir deney tasarımı prosedürü uygulanmıştır. Deney sonuçları, yapay bağışıklık sistemlerinin klasik çizelgeleme ve tavlama benzetimi algoritmalarından daha iyi sonuçlar verdiğini göstermiştir

A New Approach to Solve Flowshop Scheduling Problems By Artificial Immune Systems

n iş m makina akış tipi iş çizelgeleme problemi en genel iş çizelgeleme problemlerinden biridir. Bu çalışma akış tipi çizelgeleme problemi için toplam tamamlanma zamanı minimizasyonu ile ilgilenmektedir. Yapay Bağışıklık Sistemleri (YBS), çizelgeleme problemlerinde son dönemlerde kullanılan yeni bir problem çözme tekniğidir. YBS, doğal bağışıklık sisteminin prensiplerini ve mekanizmalarını kullanarak problemlere çözüm üreten bir hesaplama sistemidir. Bu çalışmada, bağışıklık tepkisinin iki ayrı mekanizması olan klonel seçim prensibi ve benzerlik mekanizması üzerine kurulmuş bir metod kullanılmıştır. Meta sezgisel yöntemlerde seçilen operatörler, çözüm kalitesi üzerinde önemli bir role sahiptir. Bu nedenle, yapay bağışıklık sisteminin etkin parametrelerinin belirlenmesinde çok aşamalı bir deney tasarımı prosedürü uygulanmıştır. Deney sonuçları, yapay bağışıklık sistemlerinin klasik çizelgeleme ve tavlama benzetimi algoritmalarından daha iyi sonuçlar verdiğini göstermiştir.The n-job, m-machine flow shop scheduling problem is one of the most general job scheduling problems. This study deals with the criteria of makespan minimization for the flow shop scheduling problem. Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) are new intelligent problem solving techniques that are being used in scheduling problems. AIS can be defined as computational systems inspired by theoretical immunology, observed immune functions, principles and mechanisms in order to solve problems. In this research, a computational method based on clonal selection principle and affinity maturation mechanisms of the immune response is used. The operation parameters of meta-heuristics have an important role on the quality of the solution. Thus, a generic systematic procedure which bases on a multi-step experimental design approach for determining the efficient system parameters for AIS is presented. Experimental results show that, the artificial immune system algorithm is more efficient than both the classical heuristic flow shop scheduling algorithms and simulated annealing

A New Approach to Solve Flowshop Scheduling Problems By Artificial Immune Systems

n iş m makina akış tipi iş çizelgeleme problemi en genel iş çizelgeleme problemlerinden biridir. Bu çalışma akış tipi çizelgeleme problemi için toplam tamamlanma zamanı minimizasyonu ile ilgilenmektedir. Yapay Bağışıklık Sistemleri (YBS), çizelgeleme problemlerinde son dönemlerde kullanılan yeni bir problem çözme tekniğidir. YBS, doğal bağışıklık sisteminin prensiplerini ve mekanizmalarını kullanarak problemlere çözüm üreten bir hesaplama sistemidir. Bu çalışmada, bağışıklık tepkisinin iki ayrı mekanizması olan klonel seçim prensibi ve benzerlik mekanizması üzerine kurulmuş bir metod kullanılmıştır. Meta sezgisel yöntemlerde seçilen operatörler, çözüm kalitesi üzerinde önemli bir role sahiptir. Bu nedenle, yapay bağışıklık sisteminin etkin parametrelerinin belirlenmesinde çok aşamalı bir deney tasarımı prosedürü uygulanmıştır. Deney sonuçları, yapay bağışıklık sistemlerinin klasik çizelgeleme ve tavlama benzetimi algoritmalarından daha iyi sonuçlar verdiğini göstermiştir.The n-job, m-machine flow shop scheduling problem is one of the most general job scheduling problems. This study deals with the criteria of makespan minimization for the flow shop scheduling problem. Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) are new intelligent problem solving techniques that are being used in scheduling problems. AIS can be defined as computational systems inspired by theoretical immunology, observed immune functions, principles and mechanisms in order to solve problems. In this research, a computational method based on clonal selection principle and affinity maturation mechanisms of the immune response is used. The operation parameters of meta-heuristics have an important role on the quality of the solution. Thus, a generic systematic procedure which bases on a multi-step experimental design approach for determining the efficient system parameters for AIS is presented. Experimental results show that, the artificial immune system algorithm is more efficient than both the classical heuristic flow shop scheduling algorithms and simulated annealing

Toward Robust Manufacturing Scheduling: Stochastic Job-Shop Scheduling

Manufacturing plays a significant role in promoting economic development, production, exports, and job creation, which ultimately contribute to improving the quality of life. The presence of manufacturing defects is, however, inevitable leading to products being discarded, i.e. scrapped. In some cases, defective products can be repaired through rework. Scrap and rework cause a longer completion time, which can contribute to the order being shipped late. In addition, complex manufacturing scheduling becomes much more challenging when the above uncertainties are present. Motivated by the presence of uncertainties as well as combinatorial complexity, this paper addresses the challenge illustrated through a case study of stochastic job-shop scheduling problems arising within low-volume high-variety manufacturing. To ensure on-time delivery, high-quality solutions are required, and near-optimal solutions must be obtained within strict time constraints to ensure smooth operations on the job-shop floor. To efficiently solve the stochastic job-shop scheduling (JSS) problem, a recently-developed Surrogate "Level-Based" Lagrangian Relaxation is used to reduce computational effort while efficiently exploiting the geometric convergence potential inherent to Polyak's step-sizing formula thereby leading to fast convergence. Numerical testing demonstrates that the new method is more than two orders of magnitude faster as compared to commercial solvers