Path-relinking Tabu search for the multi-objective flexible job shop scheduling problem

The multi-objective flexible job shop scheduling problem is solved using a novel path-relinking algorithm based on the state-of-the-art Tabu search algorithm with back-jump tracking. A routing solution is identified by problem-specific neighborhood search, and is then further refined by the Tabu search algorithm with back-jump tracking for a sequencing decision. The resultant solution is used to maintain the medium-term memory where the best solutions are stored. A path-relinking heuristics is designed to generate diverse solutions in the most promising areas. An improved version of the algorithm is then developed by incorporating an effective dimension-oriented intensification search to find solutions that are located near extreme solutions. The proposed algorithms are tested on benchmark instances and its experimental performance is compared with that of algorithms in the literature. Comparison results show that the proposed algorithms are competitive in terms of its computation performance and solution quality. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.