Mathematical modeling and a hybridized bacterial foraging optimization algorithm for the flexible job-shop scheduling problem with sequencing flexibility

The flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is an extension of the classical job-shop scheduling problem (JSP) in which operations can be performed by a set of candidate capable machines. An extended version of the FJSP, entitled sequencing flexibility, is studied in this work, which considers precedence between the operations in the form of a directed acyclic graph instead of a sequential order. In this work, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation is presented to minimize weighted tardiness for the FJSP with sequencing flexibility. Due to the NP-hardness of the problem, a novel biomimicry hybrid bacterial foraging optimization algorithm (HBFOA) is developed, which is inspired by the behavior of E. coli bacteria in its search for food. The developed HBFOA search method is hybridized with simulated annealing (SA). Additionally, the algorithm has been enhanced by a local search method based on the manipulation of critical operations. Classical dispatching rules have been employed to create the initial swarm of HBFOA, and a new dispatching rule named minimum number of operations has been devised. The developed approach has been packaged in the form of a decision support system (DSS) developed on top of Microsoft Excel—a tool most small and mid-range enterprises (SME) use heavily for planning. A case study with local industry is presented to validate the proposed HBFOA and MILP. Additional numerical experiments using literature benchmarks are further used for validation. The results demonstrate that the HBFOA outperformed the classical dispatching rules and the best integer solution of MILP when minimizing the weighted tardiness and offered comparable results for the makespan instances.