No-wait flow shop scheduling refers to continuous flow of jobs through different machines. The job once started should have the continuous processing through the machines without wait. This situation occurs when there is a lack of an intermediate storage between the processing of jobs on two consecutive machines. The problem of no-wait with the objective of minimizing makespan in flow shop scheduling is NP-hard; therefore the heuristic algorithms are the key to solve the problem with optimal solution or to approach nearer to optimal solution in simple manner. The paper describes two heuristics, one constructive and an improvement heuristic algorithm obtained by modifying the constructive one for sequencing n-jobs through m-machines in a flow shop under no-wait constraint with the objective of minimizing makespan. The efficiency of the proposed heuristic algorithms is tested on 120 Taillard’s benchmark problems found in the literature against the NEH under no-wait and the MNEH heuristic for no-wait flow shop problem. The improvement heuristic outperforms all heuristics on the Taillard’s instances by improving the results of NEH by 27.85%, MNEH by 22.56% and that of the proposed constructive heuristic algorithm by 24.68%. To explain the computational process of the proposed algorithm, numerical illustrations are also given in the paper. Statistical tests of significance are done in order to draw the conclusions.

In this paper, a new hybrid algorithm based on multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) using simulated annealing (SA) is proposed for scheduling unrelated parallel machines with sequence-dependent setup times, varying due dates, ready times and precedence relations among jobs. Our objective is to minimize makespan (Maximum completion time of all machines), number of tardy jobs, total tardiness and total earliness at the same time which can be more advantageous in real environment than considering each of objectives separately. For obtaining an optimal solution, hybrid algorithm based on MOGA and SA has been proposed in order to gain both good global and local search abilities. Simulation results and four well-known multi-objective performance metrics, indicate that the proposed hybrid algorithm outperforms the genetic algorithm (GA) and SA in terms of each objective and significantly in minimizing the total cost of the weighted function.

This study aims to investigate the multi-item inventory model in a production/rework system with multiple production setups. Rework can be depicted as the transformation of production rejects, failed, or non-conforming items into re-usable products of the same or lower quality during or after inspection. Rework is very valuable and profitable, especially if materials are limited in availability and also pricey. Moreover, rework can be a good contribution to a ‘green image environment’. In this paper, we establish a multi-item inventory model to determine the optimal inventory replenishment policy for the economic production quantity (EPQ) model for imperfect, deteriorating items with multiple productions and rework under inflation and learning environment. In inventory modelling, Inflation plays a very important role. In one cycle, production system produces items in n production setups and one rework setup, i.e. system follows (n, 1) policy. To reduce the deterioration of products preservation technology investment is also considered in this model. Holding cost is taken as time dependent. We develop expressions for the average profit per time unit, including procurement of input materials, costs for production, rework, deterioration cost and storage of serviceable and reworkable lots. Using those expressions, the proposed model is demonstrated numerically and the sensitivity analysis is also performed to study the behaviour of the model.

This article addresses the problem of dynamic sequencing on n identical parallel machines with stochastic arrivals, processing times, due dates and sequence-dependent setups. The system operates under a completely reactive scheduling policy and the sequence of jobs is determined with the use of dispatching rules. Seventeen existing dispatching rules are considered including standard and setup-oriented rules. The performance of the system is evaluated by four metrics. An experimental study of the system is conducted where the effect of categorical and continuous system parameters on the objective functions is examined. In light of the results from the simulation experiments, a parameterized priority rule is introduced and tested. The simulation output is analyzed using rigorous statistical methods and the proposed rule is found to produce significantly better results regarding the metrics of mean cycle time and mean tardiness in single machine cases. In respect to three machine cases, the proposed rule matches the performance of the best rule from the set of existing rules which were studied in this research for three metrics.

In this paper, we propose a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm to maximize the production and to minimize the processing time in the steel-making and continuous casting (SCC) by optimizing the order of the sequences where a sequence is a group of jobs with the same chemical characteristics. Based on the work Bellabdaoui and Teghem (2006) [Bellabdaoui, A., & Teghem, J. (2006). A mixed-integer linear programming model for the continuous casting planning. International Journal of Production Economics, 104(2), 260-270.], a mixed integer linear programming for scheduling steelmaking continuous casting production is presented to minimize the makespan. The order of the sequences in continuous casting is assumed to be fixed. The main contribution is to analyze an additional way to determine the optimal order of sequences. A hybrid method based on simulated annealing and genetic algorithm restricted by a tabu list (SA-GA-TL) is addressed to obtain the optimal order. After parameter tuning of the proposed algorithm, it is tested on different instances using a.NET application and the commercial software solver Cplex v12.5. These results are compared with those obtained by SA-TL (simulated annealing restricted by tabu list).

In this paper, the ranking performance of six most popular and easily comprehensive multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods, i.e. weighted sum method (WSM), weighted product method (WPM), weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method, multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis and reference point approach (MOORA) method, and multiplicative form of MOORA method (MULTIMOORA) is investigated using two real time industrial robot selection problems. Both single dimensional and high dimensional weight sensitivity analyses are performed to study the effects of weight variations of the most important as well as the most critical criterion on the ranking stability of all the six considered MCDM methods. The identified local weight stability interval indicates the range of weights within which the rank of the best alternative remains unaltered, whereas, the global weight stability interval determines the range of weights within which the overall rank order of all the alternatives remains unaffected. It is observed that for both the problems, multiplicative form of MOORA is the most robust method being least affected by the changing weights of the most important and the most critical criteria.

When a supplier announces a price increase at a certain time in the future, for each retailer it is important to choose whether to purchase supplementary stock to take benefit of the current lower price or procure at a new price. This article focuses on the possible effects of price increase on a retailer’s replenishment strategy for constant deterioration of items. Here, quadratic demand is debated; which is appropriate for the products for which demand increases initially and subsequently it starts to decrease with the new version of the substitute. We discuss two scenarios in this study: (I) when the special order time coincides with the retailer’s replenishment time and (II) when the special order time falls during the retailer’s sales period. We determine an optimal ordering policy for each case by maximizing total cost savings between special and regular orders during the depletion time of the special order quantity. Scenarios are established and illustrated with numerical examples. Through, sensitivity analysis important inventory parameters are classified. Graphical results, in two and three dimensions, are exhibited with supervisory decision.

In this paper we introduce the concept of equilibrium for a non-cooperative multiobjective bimatrix game with payoff matrices and goals of Z-Numbers. In the recent studies of the authors, the problem of finding equilibrium for a non-cooperative bimatrix of Z-Numbers are investigated. Multiple payoffs are often dealt with in games because a decision making problem under conflict usually involves multiple objectives or attributes such as cost, time and productivity. We let each of the objectives of the problem correspond to each of the payoffs of the game. To aggregate multiple goals, we employ two basic methods, one by weighting coefficients and the other by a minimum component. In order to find the equilibrium solution in such circumstances, we developed a mathematical programming problem to maximize the aggregated goal subject to constraint of satisfying an aspiration level of confidence in the equilibrium solution. Finally a method is presented to determine the equilibrium solution with respect to the level of achievement to the aggregated goal.

In the competitive business world, applying a reliable and powerful mechanism to support decision makers in manufacturing companies and helping them save time by considering varieties of effective factors is an inevitable issue. Advanced Available-to-Promise is a perfect tool to design and perform such a mechanism. In this study, this mechanism which is compatible with the Make-to-Forecast production systems is presented. The ability to distinguish between batch mode and real-time mode advanced available-to-promise is one of the unique superiorities of the proposed model. We also try to strengthen this mechanism by integrating the inventory allocation and job shop scheduling by considering due dates and weighted earliness/tardiness cost that leads to more precise decisions. A mixed integer programming (MIP) model and a heuristic algorithm according to its disability to solve large size problems are presented. The designed experiments and the obtained results have proved the efficiency of the proposed heuristic method.