O problema integrado de dimensionamento e sequenciamento de lotes no processo de fabricação da cerveja: modelos e métodos de solução

Abstract

This study deals with the multistage lot-sizing and scheduling problem in breweries.The brewing process can be divided into two main stages: preparation and filling of the liquid. The first stage occurs most of the time in fermentation and maturation tanks. The second stage occurs in the filling lines and it can start as soon as the liquid gets ready. The preparation time of the liquid takes several days, while in the carbonated beverage industries this time is at most a few hours. The purpose of this study is to obtain feasible production plans aimed at optimizing the decisions involved in these processes. Visits to brewery industries in Brazil and Portugal were held to a greater familiarity of the production process and data were collected. Mixed integer programming models have been developed to represent the problem, based on approaches for the CSLP (The Continuous Setup Lot-Sizing Problem), GLSP (General Lot Sizing and Scheduling Problem), SPL (Simple Plant Location Problem) and ATSP (Asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem). The results show that the models are consistent and adequately represent the problem; however, they are difficult to be solved at optimality. This motivated the development of MIP-heuristic procedures, as well as a meta-heuristic GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure). The obtained solutions by the heuristics are of good quality, when compared to the best lower bound found by solving the mathematical models. The tests were conducted using generated instances based on real data.