A simulation-based genetic algorithm approach for remanufacturing process planning and scheduling

Remanufacturing has attracted growing attention in recent years because of its energy-saving and emission-reduction potential. Process planning and scheduling play important roles in the organization of remanufacturing activities and directly affect the overall performance of a remanufacturing system. However, the existing research on remanufacturing process planning and scheduling is very limited due to the difficulty and complexity brought about by various uncertainties in remanufacturing processes. We address the problem by adopting a simulation-based optimization framework. In the proposed genetic algorithm, a solution represents the selected process routes for the jobs to be remanufactured, and the quality of a solution is evaluated through Monte Carlo simulation, in which a production schedule is generated following the specified process routes. The studied problem includes two objective functions to be optimized simultaneously (one concerned with process planning and the other concerned with scheduling), and therefore, Pareto-based optimization principles are applied. The proposed solution approach is comprehensively tested and is shown to outperform a standard multi-objective optimization algorithm.     

Application of game theory based hybrid algorithm for multi-objective integrated process planning and scheduling

Process planning and scheduling are two key sub-functions in the manufacturing system. Traditionally, process planning and scheduling were regarded as the separate tasks to perform sequentially. Recently, a significant trend is to integrate process planning and scheduling more tightly to achieve greater performance and higher productivity of the manufacturing system. Because of the complementarity of process planning and scheduling, and the multiple objectives requirement from the real-world production, this research focuses on the multi-objective integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) problem. In this research, the Nash equilibrium in game theory based approach has been used to deal with the multiple objectives. And a hybrid algorithm has been developed to optimize the IPPS problem. Experimental studies have been used to test the performance of the proposed approach. The results show that the developed approach is a promising and very effective method on the research of the multi-objective IPPS problem.     

An active learning genetic algorithm for integrated process planning and scheduling

In traditional approaches, process planning and scheduling are carried out sequentially, where scheduling is done separately after the process plan has been generated. However, the functions of these two systems are usually complementary. The traditional approach has become an obstacle to improve the productivity and responsiveness of the manufacturing system. If the two systems can be integrated more tightly, greater performance and higher productivity of a manufacturing system can be achieved. Therefore, the research on the integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) problem is necessary. In this paper, a new active learning genetic algorithm based method has been developed to facilitate the integration and optimization of these two systems. Experimental studies have been used to test the approach, and the comparisons have been made between this approach and some previous approaches to indicate the adaptability and superiority of the proposed approach. The experimental results show that the proposed approach is a promising and very effective method on the research of the IPPS problem.     

Genetic algorithms in integrated process planning and scheduling

Process planning and scheduling are actually interrelated and should be solved simultaneously. Most integrated process planning and scheduling methods only consider the time aspects of the alternative machines when constructing schedules. The initial part of this paper describes a genetic algorithm (GA) based algorithm that only considers the time aspect of the alternative machines. The scope of consideration is then further extended to include the processing capabilities of alternative machines, with different tolerance limits and processing costs. In the proposed method based on GAs, the processing capabilities of the machines, including processing costs as well as number of rejects produced in alternative machine are considered simultaneously with the scheduling of jobs. The formulation is based on multi-objective weighted-sums optimization, which are to minimize makespan, to minimize total rejects produced and to minimize the total cost of production. A comparison is done w ith the traditional sequential method and the multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) approach, based on the Pareto optimal concept.     

Mathematical modeling and evolutionary algorithm-based approach for integrated process planning and scheduling

Traditionally, process planning and scheduling were performed sequentially, where scheduling was implemented after process plans had been generated. Considering their complementarity, it is necessary to integrate these two functions more tightly to improve the performance of a manufacturing system greatly. In this paper, a mathematical model of integrated process planning and scheduling has been formulated. And, an evolutionary algorithm-based approach has been developed to facilitate the integration and optimization of these two functions. To improve the optimized performance of the approach, efficient genetic representation and operator schemes have been developed. To verify the feasibility and performance of the proposed approach, experimental studies have been conducted and comparisons have been made between this approach and some previous works. The experimental results show that the integrated process planning and scheduling is necessary and the proposed approach has achieved significant improvement.     

Mathematical model and discrete artificial Bee Colony algorithm for distributed integrated process planning and scheduling

With the development of the globalization of economy and manufacturing industry, distributed manufacturing mode has become a hot topic in current production research. In the context of distributed manufacturing, one job has different process routes in different workshops because of heterogeneous manufacturing resources and manufacturing environments in each factory. Considering the heterogeneous process planning problems and shop scheduling problems simultaneously can take advantage of the characteristics of distributed factories to finish the processing task well. Thus, a novel network-based mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is established for distributed integrated process planning and scheduling problem (DIPPS). The paper designs a new encoding method based on the process network and its OR-nodes, and then proposes a discrete artificial bee colony algorithm (DABC) to solve the DIPPS problem. The proposed DABC can guarantee the feasibility of individuals via specially-designed mapping and switching operations, so that the process precedence constraints contained by the network graph can be satisfied in the entire procedure of the DABC algorithm. Finally, the proposed MILP model is verified and the proposed DABC is tested through some open benchmarks. By comparing with other powerful reported algorithms and obtaining new better solutions, the experiment results prove the effectiveness of the proposed model and DABC algorithm successfully.     

基于人工蜂群算法的柔性工艺与车间调度集成优化

为实现柔性工艺与车间调度集成优化,在考虑工件特征的加工工艺、次序及加工机器的柔性基础上,以最小化最大完工时间为优化目标,提出一种基于交叉变异的人工蜂群算法。该算法针对柔性工艺与车间调度集成问题的离散性特征,对工艺路线进行序列编码,工件调度采用基于工序的编码方式。通过工艺种群与调度种群的交叉变异操作,分别使采蜜蜂及观察蜂进行局部寻优,侦查蜂进行全局寻优,以此提高算法性能。在此基础上用两部分测试实例分别验证了集成研究的必要性及改进算法的有效性。     

Applications of particle swarm optimisation in integrated process planning and scheduling

Integration of process planning and scheduling (IPPS) is an important research issue to achieve manufacturing planning optimisation. In both process planning and scheduling, vast search spaces and complex technical constraints are significant barriers to the effectiveness of the processes. In this paper, the IPPS problem has been developed as a combinatorial optimisation model, and a modern evolutionary algorithm, i.e., the particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm, has been modified and applied to solve it effectively. Initial solutions are formed and encoded into particles of the PSO algorithm. The particles “fly” intelligently in the search space to achieve the best sequence according to the optimisation strategies of the PSO algorithm. Meanwhile, to explore the search space comprehensively and to avoid being trapped into local optima, several new operators have been developed to improve the particles’ movements to form a modified PSO algorithm. Case studies have been conducted to verify the performance and efficiency of the modified PSO algorithm. A comparison has been made between the result of the modified PSO algorithm and the previous results generated by the genetic algorithm (GA) and the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm, respectively, and the different characteristics of the three algorithms are indicated. Case studies show that the developed PSO can generate satisfactory results in both applications.     

A new environment-aware scheduling method for remanufacturing system with non-dedicated reprocessing lines using improved flower pollination algorithm

As the resource crisis and environmental pollution become increasingly prominent, remanufacturing is currently a popular research field for addressing these issues. However, scheduling for remanufacturing is more difficult than that for traditional manufacturing because the entire remanufacturing system (RMS) involves three cooperative subsystems: disassembly, reprocessing, and reassembly. Few studies have focused on the scheduling of the entire RMS and addressed the quality differences of defective components using non-dedicated reprocessing lines. Thus, this paper proposes a new environment-aware scheduling model for RMS, which considers not only three subsystems simultaneously, but also the non-dedicated reprocessing lines related to the recycled quality of defective components. The proposed model also integrates environmental factors by considering the carbon emissions of machines to take advantage of the environmental benefits in remanufacturing. To solve the proposed model, an improved flower pollination algorithm with new two-dimensional representation scheme is employed, which not only utilizes the self-adaptive parameter but also integrates path relinking technique, local search strategy, and elite replacement strategy. Experiments are performed to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for solving the remanufacturing scheduling problem by comparing it with six baseline algorithms.     

Heuristic factory planning algorithm for advanced planning and scheduling

This study focuses on solving the factory planning (FP) problem for product structures with multiple final products. In situations in which the capacity of the work center is limited and multiple job stages are sequentially dependent, the algorithm proposed in this study is able to plan all the jobs, while minimizing delay time, cycle time, and advance time. Though mixed integer programming (MIP) is a popular way to solve supply chain factory planning problems, the MIP model becomes insolvable for complex FP problems, due to the time and computer resources required. For this reason, this study proposes a heuristic algorithm, called the heuristic factory planning algorithm (HFPA), to solve the supply chain factory planning problem efficiently and effectively. HFPA first identifies the bottleneck work center and sorts the work centers according to workload, placing the work center with the heaviest workload ahead of the others. HFPA then groups and sorts jobs according to various criteria, for example, dependency on the bottleneck work center, the workload at the bottleneck work center, and the due date. HFPA plans jobs individually in three iterations. First, it plans jobs without preempting, advancing, and/or delaying. Jobs that cannot be scheduled under these conditions are scheduled in the second iteration, which allows preemption. In the final iteration, which allows jobs to be preempted, advanced, and delayed, all the remaining jobs are scheduled. A prototype was constructed and tested to show HFPA's effectiveness and efficiency. This algorithm's power was demonstrated using computational and complexity analysis.     

Energy-efficient scheduling for a flexible flow shop using an improved genetic-simulated annealing algorithm

The traditional production scheduling problem considers performance indicators such as processing time, cost, and quality as optimization objectives in manufacturing systems; however, it does not take energy consumption or environmental impacts completely into account. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy-efficient model for flexible flow shop scheduling (FFS). First, a mathematical model for a FFS problem, which is based on an energy-efficient mechanism, is described to solve multi-objective optimization. Since FFS is well known as a NP-hard problem, an improved, genetic-simulated annealing algorithm is adopted to make a significant trade-off between the makespan and the total energy consumption to implement a feasible scheduling. Finally, a case study of a production scheduling problem for a metalworking workshop in a plant is simulated. The experimental results show that the relationship between the makespan and the energy consumption may be apparently conflicting. In addition, an energy-saving decision is performed in a feasible scheduling. Using the decision method, there could be significant potential for minimizing energy consumption.     

An integrated job shop scheduling and assembly sequence planning approach for discrete manufacturing

This paper proposes an integrated job shop scheduling and assembly sequence planning (IJSSASP) approach for discrete manufacturing, enabling the part processing sequence and assembly sequence to be optimized simultaneously. The optimization objectives are to minimize the total production completion time and the total inventory time of parts during production. The interaction effects between the job shop schedule and the assembly sequence plan in discrete manufacturing are analyzed, and the mathematical models including the objective functions and the constraints are established for IJSSASP. Based on the above, a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-Ⅱ) with a hybrid chromosome coding mechanism is applied to solve the IJSSASP problem. Through the case studies and comparison tests for different scale problems, the proposed IJSSASP approach is verified to be able to improve the production efficiency and save the manufacturing cost of the discrete manufacturing enterprise more effectively.     

Production planning and control for remanufacturing: a state-of-the-art survey

Remanufacturing is rapidly emerging as an important form of waste prevention and environmentally conscious manufacturing. Firms are discovering it to be a profitable approach while at the same time enhancing their image as environmentally responsible, for a wide range of products. In this paper the characteristics of the remanufacturing environment are discussed first to distinguish this environment from other manufacturing environments. The production planning and control function of the remanufacturing firm is examined in this environment. The research in the various decision-making areas that comprise the production planning and control function is evaluated. There are many areas where the research is still scant. The lack of any overall integrated framework and models for the production planning and control function is noted. It is also pointed out that most firms are still grappling with these problems and do not have any formal mechanisms in place. There is a need to develop models and frameworks grounded in the problems and needs of these remanufacturing firms.     

Integrated process planning and scheduling by an agent-based ant colony optimization

This paper presents an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm in an agent-based system to integrate process planning and shopfloor scheduling (IPPS). The search-based algorithm which aims to obtain optimal solutions by an autocatalytic process is incorporated into an established multi-agent system (MAS) platform, with advantages of flexible system architectures and responsive fault tolerance. Artificial ants are implemented as software agents. A graph-based solution method is proposed with the objective of minimizing makespan. Simulation studies have been established to evaluate the performance of the ant approach. The experimental results indicate that the ACO algorithm can effectively solve the IPPS problems and the agent-based implementation can provide a distributive computation of the algorithm.     

Integration of process planning and production scheduling based on genetic algorithm

Lacking of flexibility in the traditional workshop production, a genetic algorithm is proposed to implement the integration of process planning and production scheduling. In this paper, the processing routes and processing machine are selected through chromosome crossover and mutation, in order to implement the optimal scheduling of the flexible workshop production. Meanwhile, a performance test about the integration of process planning and production scheduling is implemented, and the results shows that the genetic algorithm is efficient to obtain optimal or near optimal process routes which can meet the requirements of production scheduling.     

柔性Job shop集成化计划调度模型及其求解算法

考虑不同加工工艺路径的成本因素，从集成化的角度研究了柔性Job shop计划和调度问题，针对问题的结构特点，建立了两层混合整数规划模型，提出门槛接受，遗传算法与启发式规则相结合的混合求解算法，综合考虑各层次决策问题进行求解，实例计算表明，该算法可迅速求得问题的近优解，表现出良好的求解性能。     

An autonomous decentralized scheduling algorithm for a scheduling problem in a metal mould assembly process

This paper deals with a scheduling problem in a metal mould assembly process. The process is of job shop type with several additional constraints. One constraint is that precedence relations exist not only among operations but also among jobs. The other constraint is that the system has two types of machines in parallel. The single-function machine executes a specific operation of each job and the multi-function machine can execute several operations. Therefore selection of the machine is necessary for executing each operation. In addition the problem has two objective functions. One is to minimize the sum of the tardiness of each job, and the other is to maximize the working time of the multi-function machine because of reducing the operating cost of machines. An autonomous decentralized scheduling algorithm is proposed to obatin a compromise solution of the multi-objective problem. In this algorithm, a number of decision makers are called subsystems, which co-operate with one another in order to attain the goal of the overall system. In our algorithm, all jobs and the set of multi-function machine are defined as the subsystem because their objective functions are competitive. They determine the scheduling plan on the basis of their co-operation and the satisfaction of their own objective function levels. The effectiveness of the algorithm is investigated by examining numerical results.     

一类Job- shop 车间生产计划和调度的集成优化

讨论一类Job—shop车间的生产计划和调度的集成优化问题，给出了该问题的非线性混合整数规划模型，并采用混合遗传算法进行求解。该模型利用调度约束来细化生产计划，以保证得到可行的调度解。在混合算法中，利用启发式规则来改善初始解集，并采用分段编码策略将计划和调度解映射为染色体。算例研究表明，该算法对求解该类问题具有很好的效果。     

A cutting plane approach for integrated planning and scheduling

In this paper we propose a branch-and-cut algorithm for solving an integrated production planning and scheduling problem in a parallel machine environment. The planning problem consists of assigning each job to a week over the planning horizon, whereas in the scheduling problem those jobs assigned to a given week have to be scheduled in a parallel machine environment such that all jobs are finished within the week. We solve this problem in two ways: (1) as a monolithic mathematical program and (2) using a hierarchical decomposition approach in which only the planning decisions are modeled explicitly, and the existence of a feasible schedule for each week is verified by using cutting planes. The two approaches are compared with extensive computational testing.     

Integration of process planning and scheduling— a review

In recent years, a few researchers have addressed the need for the integration of process planning and scheduling functions in order to achieve superior overall system performance. Many of these researchers have discovered that the potential savings are substantial when process planning and scheduling are integrated. It has been reported that typical scheduling objectives, such as minimizing makespan, maximizing equipment utilization, etc, can be significantly improved as the result of integration of these two important manufacturing system functions. In this paper, we present a review of the reported research in this area, discuss the extent of applicability of various approaches, and suggest directions for future research.