A hybrid scatter search method for solving fuzzy no-wait flow-shop scheduling problems

Abstract

The literature published since the year 2000 was reviewed regarding the no-wait flow-shop scheduling (No-WFSS) problem. The No-WFSS problem with separate set-up times and fuzzy due dates is addressed to maximize the customer satisfaction index. A scatter search algorithm (SSA) is proposed, hybridized by some operators. The proposed SSA was first used for solving the considered fuzzy no-wait flow-shop scheduling with set-up time (FNo-WFSSWST) problem. Parameters were calibrated using 192 No-WFSS benchmark instances. The proposed SSA was compared with the genetic heuristic, adaptive learning approach, and hybrid ant colony optimization methods from the literature, showing significant performance improvements. It is concluded that the proposed algorithm is an efficient method for solving FNo-WFSSWST problems.