Data structures and simulation algorithms for flow-shop scheduling with resource availability constraints

Abstract

Flow-shop scheduling problems are classic examples of multi-resource and multi-operation optimization problems. This paper demonstrates our model and simulation for solving Flow-shop scheduling optimization problems with resource availability constraints to minimize makespan. Working hours, transfer times and setup times are taken into account.  Working hours could be interpreted in two ways. In the first option, operations must fit into a single available time slot. In the second option, the simulation could cut operations across multiple time slots. We propose a simulation algorithm that accounts for both scenarios and could be used with any permutation-based exact, heuristic, or search algorithm.