Branch-and-Bound Based Heuristic Scheduling for the Single-Hoist and Multiple-Products Production System

Abstract

This paper deals with the single-hoist and multiple-products scheduling problem. Although a mixed integer linear programming model for the problem was developed earlier, a branch-and-bound based heuristic algorithm is proposed in this paper to solve the big-size problems in real situation. The algorithm is capable of handling problems incorporating different product types, jobs in the process, and tank capacities. Using a small example problem the procedure of the heuristic algorithm is explained. To assess the performance of the heuristic we generate a bigger example problem and compare the results of the algorithm proposed in this paper with the optimal solutions derived from the mathematical model of earlier research. The comparison shows that the heuristic has very good performance and the computation time is sufficiently short to use the algorithm in real situation. †