An effective discrete harmony search algorithm for flexible job shop scheduling problem with fuzzy processing time

Abstract

This study addresses flexible job shop scheduling problem (FJSP) with fuzzy processing time. The fuzzy or uncertainty of processing time is one of seven characteristics in remanufacturing. A discrete harmony search (DHS) algorithm is proposed for FJSP with fuzzy processing time. The objective is to minimise maximum fuzzy completion time. A simple and effective heuristic rule is proposed to initialise harmony population. Extensive computational experiments are carried out using five benchmark cases with eight instances from remanufacturing. The proposed heuristic rule is evaluated using five benchmark cases. The proposed DHS algorithm is compared to six metaheuristics. The results and comparisons show the effectiveness and efficiency of DHS for solving FJSP with fuzzy processing time.

Keywords:

• discrete harmony search
• flexible job shop scheduling
• fuzzy processing time
• fuzzy completion time
• remanufacturing

Additional information

Funding

This research is partially supported by foundation of A*Star (Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore): Remanufacturing Scheduling Systems [grant number 112 290 4021], the National Science Foundation of China [grant number 61104179] and a project of Shandong Province Higher Education Science and Technology Program [grant number J14LN28].