Solving the flexible job shop scheduling and lot streaming problem with setup and transport resource constraints

Abstract

This article addresses the Flexible Job Shop Scheduling and Lot Streaming Problem (FJSSP-LS) under setup and transport resource constraints. While the related literature emphasises the lot streaming policy for time-based objectives, setup and transport resource constraints were not considered simultaneously with this policy, limiting the resulting schedule's applicability in practice. For this reason, we propose a novel Constraint Programming (CP) model enriched by an efficient variable and value ordering strategy specifically designed for the FJSSP-LS with resource constraints. We also present a CP-based iterative improvement method, CP-based Large Neighbourhood Search (CP-based LNS), that focuses on exploring large neighbourhoods through the CP model. Both models are initially tested for the FJSSP and have been shown to provide the best solutions to well-known benchmark instances. Next, they are used for the FJSSP-LS, and the proposed CP-based LNS improves the objective function value by 4.68 percent on average compared to the CP model for the generated test problems.

KEYWORDS:

• Flexible job shop scheduling
• lot streaming
• resource constraints
• constraint programming
• large neighbourhood search

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data sets are available on Mendeley Data at http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/bp9yrg9bkj.1.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pinar Yunusoglu

Pinar Yunusoglu is a research assistant at Izmir Bakircay University and a Ph.D. student at Dokuz Eylul University, Department of Industrial Engineering. Her field of interest mainly focuses on operations research applications in manufacturing and service systems. Her research interests include combinatorial optimisation problems, scheduling, constraint programming, and heuristics.

Seyda Topaloglu Yildiz

Seyda Topaloglu Yildiz is a Professor of Industrial Engineering at Dokuz Eylul University (DEU), Turkey. She received her Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering from DEU. Her research interests include mathematical modelling, scheduling, constraint programming, and assembly line balancing.