Hybrid flowshop scheduling with no-wait and blocking constraints

Abstract

This paper considers the optimization of the insulation board production process through the formulation of a three-stage hybrid flow-shop scheduling problem with no-wait and blocking constraints. The production stages consist of a single machine in the first and third stages, while the second stage incorporates several identical parallel machines. The objective is to minimize makespan. Through a detailed analysis of the problem's characteristics, this paper introduces various properties and optimal algorithms for two special cases. For the general case, a filtered beam search-based algorithm is presented, taking into account the problem's inherent features and supported by propositions, upper bounds, and lower bounds. Experimental evaluations across three distinct classes validate the efficacy of the proposed approach, demonstrating its ability to yield high-quality solutions within a short time.