A general search sequencing rule for job shop sequencing

Abstract

This paper sets out, an approach to the job shop sequencing problem by determining the priority of a job from a linear combination of the basic quantities of operation times and due date. This achieves a simple yet unified format. Furthermore, since these basic quantities are used in fixed linear combinations in the majority of well-known simple heuristics, the rule outlined in the paper is capable of representing such heuristics as special cases within its framework. A performance function is used to assess the effectiveness of the rule and no limitations are imposed on its structure. The form of the variable priority rule is then determined by a computer search routine basing its decisions on the values of the performance function. This overall approach to job shop sequencing we term the search sequencing rule (SSR).