A multilayer feed-forward neural network (MLFNN) for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP)

Abstract

Project management has a fundamental role in national development, industrial development, and economic growth. Schedule management is also one of the knowledge areas of project management, which includes the processes employed to manage the timely completion of the project. This paper deals with the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP), which is a part of schedule management. The objective of the problem is to optimize and minimize the project duration while constraining the resource quantities during project scheduling. There are two important constraints in this problem, namely resource constraints and precedence relationships of activities during project scheduling. Many methods such as exact, heuristic, and meta-heuristic have been developed by researchers to solve the problem, but there is a lack of investigation of the problem using methods such as neural networks and machine learning. In this article, we develop a multi-layer feed-forward neural network (MLFNN) to solve the standard single- mode RCPSP. The advantage of this method over evolutionary methods or metaheuristics is that it is not necessary to generate numerous solutions or populations. The developed MLFNN learns based on eight project parameters, namely network complexity, resource factor, resource strength, average work per activity, percentage of remaining work, etc., which are calculated at each step of project scheduling, and identified priority rules, which are the outputs of the developed neural network. Therefore, after the learning process, the network can automatically select an appropriate priority rule to filter out an unscheduled activity from the list of eligible activities and schedule all activities of the project according to the given project constraints. Finally, we investigate the performance of the presented approach using the standard benchmark problems from PSPLIB.

Two-objective optimization of preventive maintenance orders scheduling as a multi-skilled resource-constrained flow shop problem

“…They have studied the impact of skill availability, workforce size and multi-skilling on the makespan of the project. Golab et al (2022) have developed a multi-layer feed-forward neural network to solve the standard single-mode RCPSP.…”

Three on Three Optimizer: A New Metaheuristic with Three Guided Searches and Three Random Searches

“…In the minimization, the optimal global solution is the solution with the lowest value. Some experimental parameters in the minimization, such as delay [1], total order completion time [2], idle time [2], tardiness cost and maintenance [3], project duration [4], energy consumption [5], transmission losses [6], and so on. On the other hand, in maximization, the optimal global solution is the solution with the highest value.…”