Maximum completion time under a learning effect in the permutation flowshop scheduling problem

Abstract

The permutation flowshop scheduling problem under a position-based learning effect is addressed in this study. Minimization of the maximum completion time (make span) is considered for the identified problem. The mathematical programming model is established to find optimal solutions for small-sized problems. Furthermore, meta-heuristics are developed to achieve effective solutions for large-sized problems encountered in real applications. These meta-heuristics are the genetic algorithm which is a population-based solution approach, the kangaroo and the variable neighborhood search algorithms which both are single-solution-based solution approaches. In addition, different solution methods, which are in the literature for similar problem structures, are also used. Improved heuristics are evaluated according to optimal results for small-sized problems and according to performance differences between each other for large-sized problems.