Hybrid Flow Shop Scheduling Problems Using Improved Fireworks Algorithm for Permutation

Prior studies are lacking which address permutation flow shop scheduling problems and hybrid flow shop scheduling problems together to help firms find the optimized scheduling strategy. The permutation flow shop scheduling problem and hybrid flow shop scheduling problems are important production sch...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xuelian Pang, Haoran Xue, Ming-Lang Tseng, Ming K. Lim, Kaihua Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/3/1174
Description
Summary:Prior studies are lacking which address permutation flow shop scheduling problems and hybrid flow shop scheduling problems together to help firms find the optimized scheduling strategy. The permutation flow shop scheduling problem and hybrid flow shop scheduling problems are important production scheduling types, which widely exist in industrial production fields. This study aimed to acquire the best scheduling strategy for making production plans. An improved fireworks algorithm is proposed to minimize the makespan in the proposed strategies. The proposed improved fireworks algorithm is compared with the fireworks algorithm, and the improvement strategies include the following: (1) A nonlinear radius is introduced and the minimum explosion amplitude is checked to avoid the waste of optimal fireworks; (2) The original Gaussian mutation operator is replaced by a hybrid operator that combines Cauchy and Gaussian mutation to improve the search ability; and (3) An elite group selection strategy is adopted to reduce the computing costs. Two instances from the permutation flow shop scheduling problem and hybrid flow shop scheduling problems were used to evaluate the improved fireworks algorithm’s performance, and the computational results demonstrate the improved fireworks algorithm’s superiority.
ISSN:2076-3417