Swarm intelligence for scheduling: a review

Swarm Intelligence generally refers to a problem-solving ability that emerges from the interaction of simple information-processing units. The concept of Swarm suggests multiplicity, distribution, stochasticity, randomness, and messiness. The concept of Intelligence suggests that problem-solving approach is successful considering learning, creativity, cognition capabilities. This paper introduces some of the theoretical foundations, the biological motivation and fundamental aspects of swarm intelligence based optimization techniques such Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Artificial Bees Colony (ABC) algorithms for scheduling optimization

Mathematical Model and Meta-Heuristic Algorithm for Dual Resource Constrained Hybrid Flow-Shop Scheduling Problem with Job Rejection

In the real world, firms with hybrid flow-shop manufacturing environment generally facethe human resource constraint, salary cost increasment and efforts to make better use oflabor, in addition to machine constraint. Given the limitations of these resources, productdelivery requierements to customers have made the job rejection essential in order to meetdistinct customer requirements. Therefore, this research has studied the dual resourceconstrained hybrid flow-shop scheduling problem with job rejection in order to minimizethe total net cost (the sum of the total rejection cost and the total tardiness cost of jobs)which is widely used in many industries. In this article, a mixed integer linear programmingmodel has developed for the research problem. In addition, an improved sooty ternoptimization algorithm (ISTOA) has proposed to solve the large-sized problems as well asa decoding method due to the NP-hardness of the problem. In order to evaluate theproposed optimization algorithm, five well-known algorithms in the literature including(immunoglobulin-based artificial immune system (IAIS), genetic algorithm (GA), discreteartificial bee colony (DABC), improved fruit fly optimization (IFFO), effective modifiedmigrating birds optimization (EMBO)) have adapted with the proposed problem. Finally,the performance of the proposed optimization algorithm has investigated against theadapted algorithms. Results and evaluations show the good performance of the improvedsooty tern optimization algorithm

An efficient discrete artificial bee colony algorithm for the blocking flow shop problem with total flowtime minimization

This paper presents a high performing Discrete Artificial Bee Colony algorithm for the blocking flow shop problem with flow time criterion. To develop the proposed algorithm, we considered four strategies for the food source phase and two strategies for each of the three remaining phases (employed bees, onlookers and scouts). One of the strategies tested in the food source phase and one implemented in the employed bees phase are new. Both have been proved to be very effective for the problem at hand. The initialization scheme named HPF2(¿, µ) in particular, which is used to construct the initial food sources, is shown in the computational evaluation to be one of the main procedures that allow the DABC_RCT to obtain good solutions for this problem. To find the best configuration of the algorithm, we used design of experiments (DOE). This technique has been used extensively in the literature to calibrate the parameters of the algorithms but not to select its configuration. Comparing it with other algorithms proposed for this problem in the literature demonstrates the effectiveness and superiority of the DABC_RCTPeer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

On the use of biased-randomized algorithms for solving non-smooth optimization problems

Soft constraints are quite common in real-life applications. For example, in freight transportation, the fleet size can be enlarged by outsourcing part of the distribution service and some deliveries to customers can be postponed as well; in inventory management, it is possible to consider stock-outs generated by unexpected demands; and in manufacturing processes and project management, it is frequent that some deadlines cannot be met due to delays in critical steps of the supply chain. However, capacity-, size-, and time-related limitations are included in many optimization problems as hard constraints, while it would be usually more realistic to consider them as soft ones, i.e., they can be violated to some extent by incurring a penalty cost. Most of the times, this penalty cost will be nonlinear and even noncontinuous, which might transform the objective function into a non-smooth one. Despite its many practical applications, non-smooth optimization problems are quite challenging, especially when the underlying optimization problem is NP-hard in nature. In this paper, we propose the use of biased-randomized algorithms as an effective methodology to cope with NP-hard and non-smooth optimization problems in many practical applications. Biased-randomized algorithms extend constructive heuristics by introducing a nonuniform randomization pattern into them. Hence, they can be used to explore promising areas of the solution space without the limitations of gradient-based approaches, which assume the existence of smooth objective functions. Moreover, biased-randomized algorithms can be easily parallelized, thus employing short computing times while exploring a large number of promising regions. This paper discusses these concepts in detail, reviews existing work in different application areas, and highlights current trends and open research lines

Comparative study of heuristics algorithms in solving flexible job shop scheduling problem with condition based maintenance

Purpose: This paper focuses on a classic optimization problem in operations research, the flexible job shop scheduling problem (FJSP), to discuss the method to deal with uncertainty in a manufacturing system. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, condition based maintenance (CBM), a kind of preventive maintenance, is suggested to reduce unavailability of machines. Different to the simultaneous scheduling algorithm (SSA) used in the previous article (Neale & Cameron,1979), an inserting algorithm (IA) is applied, in which firstly a pre-schedule is obtained through heuristic algorithm and then maintenance tasks are inserted into the pre-schedule scheme. Findings: It is encouraging that a new better solution for an instance in benchmark of FJSP is obtained in this research. Moreover, factually SSA used in literature for solving normal FJSPPM (FJSP with PM) is not suitable for the dynamic FJSPPM. Through application in the benchmark of normal FJSPPM, it is found that although IA obtains inferior results compared to SSA used in literature, it performs much better in executing speed. Originality/value: Different to traditional scheduling of FJSP, uncertainty of machines is taken into account, which increases the complexity of the problem. An inserting algorithm (IA) is proposed to solve the dynamic scheduling problem. It is stated that the quality of the final result depends much on the quality of the pre-schedule obtained during the procedure of solving a normal FJSP. In order to find the best solution of FJSP, a comparative study of three heuristics is carried out, the integrated GA, ACO and ABC. In the comparative study, we find that GA performs best in the three heuristic algorithms. Meanwhile, a new better solution for an instance in benchmark of FJSP is obtained in this research.Peer Reviewe

Makespan Minimization in Job Shop Scheduling

In industries, the completion time of job problems in the manufacturing unit has risen significantly. In several types of current study, the job's completion time, or makespan, is reduced by taking straight paths, which is time-consuming. In this paper, we used an Improved Ant Colony Optimization and Tabu Search (ACOTS) algorithm to solve this problem by precisely defining the fault occurrence location in order to rollback. We have used a short-term memory-based rollback recovery strategy to minimise the job's completion time by rolling back to its own short-term memory. The recent movements in Tabu quest are visited using short term memory. As compared to the ACO algorithm, our proposed ACOTS-Cmax solution is more efficient and takes less time to complete

Lot Streaming in Different Types of Production Processes: A PRISMA Systematic Review

At present, any industry that wanted to be considered a vanguard must be willing to improve itself, developing innovative techniques to generate a competitive advantage against its direct competitors. Hence, many methods are employed to optimize production processes, such as Lot Streaming, which consists of partitioning the productive lots into overlapping small batches to reduce the overall operating times known as Makespan, reducing the delivery time to the final customer. This work proposes carrying out a systematic review following the PRISMA methodology to the existing literature in indexed databases that demonstrates the application of Lot Streaming in the different production systems, giving the scientific community a strong consultation tool, useful to validate the different important elements in the definition of the Makespan reduction objectives and their applicability in the industry. Two hundred papers were identified on the subject of this study. After applying a group of eligibility criteria, 63 articles were analyzed, concluding that Lot Streaming can be applied in different types of industrial processes, always keeping the main objective of reducing Makespan, becoming an excellent improvement tool, thanks to the use of different optimization algorithms, attached to the reality of each industry.This work was supported by the Universidad Tecnica de Ambato (UTA) and their Research and Development Department (DIDE) under project CONIN-P-256-2019, and SENESCYT by grants “Convocatoria Abierta 2011” and “Convocatoria Abierta 2013”