An efficient genetic algorithm to solve the resource-constrained project scheduling problem with transfer times: The single mode case

In this article, we address the resource-constrained project scheduling problem with transfer times (RCP-SPTT). We assume that pre-emption is not allowed, and precedence relations are zero-lag finish-to-start relations. We also assume that the durations and resource transfer times of activities are known and deterministic. The objective is to choose a start time for each activity of the project so that the project duration is minimized, while satisfying precedence relations, resource availabilities, and resource-transfer time constraints. We propose a new genetic algorithm using a two-point crossover operator. The experiment, conducted on a large number of instances, shows that the proposed algorithm performs better than several solution methods previously published. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.