Flexible job-shop scheduling considering human performance fluctuations

In production, product-related error costs can be reduced by focusing on human production factors, such as considering human performance fluctuations during the day, when production planning with respect to job-shop scheduling. In this article, the flexible job-shop scheduling problem is extended by considering product-related error costs and logistic costs. Product-related error costs are increased by over stressing the operative workers. Logistic costs are based on work in process and throughput time. This cost-based definition enables a production plan to be simultaneously optimized in respect of both error and logistic costs. The product-related error costs and flexible job-shop scheduling problem are described mathematically and a memetic algorithm is also presented as an approach. Within the memetic algorithm, the evolutionary process is supplemented with a local search procedure to improve the ability of solutions and repair procedures to rectify infeasible solutions. The influence of product-related error costs on the total costs of a produc-tion plan, throughput and job waiting times within job-shop scheduling is presented.