A computationally efficient Branch-and-Bound algorithm for the permutation flow-shop scheduling problem

International audienceIn this work we propose an efficient branch-and-bound (B&B) algorithm for the permutation flow-shop problem (PFSP) with makespan objective. We present a new node decomposition scheme that combines dynamic branching and lower bound refinement strategies in a computationally efficient way. To alleviate the computational burden of the two-machine bound used in the refinement stage, we propose an online learning-inspired mechanism to predict promising couples of bottleneck machines. The algorithm offers multiple choices for branching and bounding operators and can explore the search tree either sequentially or in parallel on multi-core CPUs. In order to empirically determine the most efficient combination of these components, a series of computational experiments with 600 benchmark instances is performed. A main insight is that the problem size, aswell as interactions between branching and bounding operators substantially modify the trade-off between the computational requirements of a lower bound and the achieved tree size reduction. Moreover, we demonstrate that parallel tree search is a key ingredient for the resolution of largeproblem instances, as strong super-linear speedups can be observed. An overall evaluation using two well-known benchmarks indicates that the proposed approach is superior to previously published B&B algorithms. For the first benchmark we report the exact resolution – within less than20 minutes – of two instances defined by 500 jobs and 20 machines that remained open for more than 25 years, and for the second a total of 89 improved best-known upper bounds, including proofs of optimality for 74 of them

Mejora de tiempos de entrega en un flow shop híbrido flexible usando técnicas inteligentes. Aplicación en la industria de tejidos técnicos

Se busca aportar herramientas útiles para la programación de producción en la industria de tejidos técnicos. Se parte de las condiciones actuales de la programación de producción en este tipo de industria y de los antecedentes en la literatura científica sobre modelos aplicables a estos entornos. Se propone un modelo de solución por técnicas inteligentes a la problemática de la secuenciación y asignación de tareas en los entornos flow shop híbrido flexible considerando situaciones como: paralelismo entre máquinas no relacionadas, tiempos de montaje dependientes de la secuencia, entrada dinámica de trabajos, restricción de elegibilidad, maleabilidad y lotes de transferencia variables entre etapas. De allí se construye la propuesta de solución que involucra simultáneamente todas las condiciones de entorno real mencionadas y aplica un algoritmo genético modificado de acuerdo a las características del problema. Se concluye que el modelado considerando condiciones realistas es posible, que los algoritmos genéticos son una opción práctica para entornos reales y que las empresas pueden obtener mejoras en su capacidad de respuesta con este tipo de solucionesAbstract : It seeks to provide useful tools for production scheduling in the technical textiles industry. It begins in the current conditions of production scheduling in this type of industry and the background in scientific literature, applicable to these environments models. The mathematical model to solve the problem of sequencing and assigning jobs in Flexible hybrid flow shop environments is developed considering: unrelated parallel machines, sequence dependent setup time, dynamic entry of jobs, availability constrain, malleability and variable transfer batches between stages. The solution proposal is build including all actual environment features considered together and applying a modified genetic algorithm modeled according to the problem. It is concluded that the model of scheduling problems considering realistic conditions is possible, that genetic algorithms are a practical option for real environments, and that companies can achieve improvements in their responsiveness with this kind of solutionsDoctorad

New Solution Approaches for Scheduling Problems in Production and Logistics

The current cumulative PhD thesis consists of six papers published in/submitted to scientific journals. The focus of the thesis is to develop new solution approaches for scheduling problems encountering in manufacturing as well as in logistics. The thesis is divided into two parts: “ma-chine scheduling in production” and “scheduling problems in logistics” each of them consisting three papers. To have most comprehensive overview of the topic of machine scheduling, the first part of the thesis starts with two systematic review papers, which were conducted on tertiary level (i.e., re-viewing literature reviews). Both of these papers analyze a sample of around 130 literature re-views on machine scheduling problems. The first paper use a subjective quantitative approach to evaluate the sample, while the second papers uses content analysis which is an objective quanti-tative approach to extract meaningful information from massive data. Based on the analysis, main attributes of scheduling problems in production are identified and are classified into sever-al categories. Although the focus of both these papers are set to review scheduling problems in manufacturing, the results are not restricted to machine scheduling problem and the results can be extended to the second part of the thesis. General drawbacks of literature reviews are identi-fied and several suggestions for future researches are also provided in both papers. The third paper in the first part of the thesis presents the results of 105 new heuristic algorithms developed to minimize total flow time of a set of jobs in a flowshop manufacturing environ-ment. The computational experiments confirm that the best heuristic proposed in this paper im-proves the average error of best existing algorithm by around 25 percent. The first paper in second part is focused on minimizing number of electric tow-trains responsi-ble to deliver spare parts from warehouse to the production lines. Together with minimizing number of these electric vehicles the paper is also focused to maximize the work load balance among the drivers of the vehicles. For this problem, after analyzing the complexity of the prob-lem, an opening heuristic, a mixed integer linear programing (MILP) model and a taboo-search neighborhood search approach are proposed. Several managerial insights, such as the effect of battery capacity on the number of required vehicles, are also discussed. The second paper of the second part addresses the problem of preparing unit loaded devices (ULDs) at air cargos to be loaded latter on in planes. The objective of this problem is to mini-mize number of workers required in a way that all existing flight departure times are met and number of available places for building ULDs is not violated. For this problem, first, a MILP model is proposed and then it is boosted with a couple of heuristics which enabled the model to find near optimum solutions in a matter of 10 seconds. The paper also investigates the inherent tradeoff between labor and space utilization as well as the uncertainty about the volume of cargo to be processed. The last paper of the second part proposes an integrated model to improve both ergonomic and economic performance of manual order picking process by rotating pallets in the warehouse. For the problem under consideration in this paper, we first present and MILP model and then pro-pose a neighborhood search based on simulated annealing. The results of numerical experiment indicate that selectively rotating pallets may reduce both order picking time as well as the load on order picker, which leads to a quicker and less risky order picking process