Distributed assembly permutation flow-shop scheduling problem with non-identical factories and considering budget constraints
ISSN: 0368-492X
Article publication date: 25 January 2022
Issue publication date: 19 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address a distributed assembly permutation flow-shop scheduling problem (DAPFSP) considering budget constraints and factory eligibility. The first stage of the considered production system is composed of several non-identical factories with different technology levels and so the factories' performance is different in terms of processing time and cost. The second stage is an assembly stage wherein there are some parallel work stations to assemble the ready parts into the products. The objective function is to minimize the maximum completion time of products (makespan).
Design/methodology/approach
First, the problem is formulated as mixed-integer linear programing (MIP) model. In view of the nondeterministic polynomial (NP)-hard nature, three approximate algorithms are adopted based on variable neighborhood search (VNS) and the Johnsons' rule to solve the problem on the practical scales. The proposed algorithms are applied to solve some test instances in different sizes.
Findings
Comparison result to mathematical model validates the performance accuracy and efficiency of three proposed methods. In addition, the result demonstrated that the proposed two-level self-adaptive variable neighborhood search (TLSAVNS) algorithm outperforms the other two proposed methods. Moreover, the proposed model highlighted the effects of budget constraints and factory eligibility on the makespan. Supplementary analysis was presented by adjusting different amounts of the budget for controlling the makespan and total expected costs. The proposed solution approach can provide proper alternatives for managers to make a trade-off in different various situations.
Originality/value
The problem of distributed assembly permutation flow-shop scheduling is traditionally studied considering identical factories. However, processing factories as an important element in the supply chain use different technology levels in the real world. The current paper is the first study that investigates that problem under non-identical factories condition. In addition, the impact of different technology levels is investigated in terms of operational costs, quality levels and processing times.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The study is not funded by any agency. The authors do hereby declare that there is no conflict of interests of other works regarding the publication of this paper. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Citation
Hosseini, S.M.H. (2023), "Distributed assembly permutation flow-shop scheduling problem with non-identical factories and considering budget constraints", Kybernetes, Vol. 52 No. 6, pp. 2018-2044. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-11-2021-1112
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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