A genetic algorithm with tabu search procedure for flexible job shop scheduling with transportation constraints and bounded processing times

In this paper, we propose a model for Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem (FJSSP) with transportation constraints and bounded processing times. This is a NP hard problem. Objectives are to minimize the makespan and the storage of solutions. A genetic algorithm with tabu search procedure is proposed to solve both assignment of resources and sequencing problems on each resource. In order to evaluate the proposed algorithm's efficiency, five types of instances are tested. Three of them consider sequencing problems with or without assignment of processing or/and transport resources. The fourth and fifth ones introduce bounded processing times which mainly characterize Surface Treatment Facilities (STFs). Computational results show that our model and method are efficient for solving both assignment and scheduling problems in various kinds of systems. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.