Reinforcement Learning-Assisted Memetic Algorithm for Sustainability-Oriented Multiobjective Distributed Flow Shop Group Scheduling

Amid the global push for sustainable development, rising market demands have necessitated a multiregional, multiobjective, and flexible production model. Against this backdrop, this article investigates the multiobjective distributed flow shop group scheduling problem by formulating a mathematical model and introducing an advanced memetic algorithm integrated with reinforcement learning (RLMA). The RLMA involves a novel cooperative crossover operation in conjunction with the nature of the coupled problems to extensively explore the solution space. Additionally, the Sarsa algorithm enhanced with eligibility traces guides the selection of optimal schemes during the local enhancement phase. To ensure a balance between convergence and diversity, a solution selection strategy based on penalty-based boundary intersection decomposition is utilized. Furthermore, the increasing-efficiency and reducing-consumption strategies integrating a rapid evaluation mechanism are designed by dynamically changing the machine speed to balance economic and sustainability metrics. Comprehensive numerical experiments and comparative analyses demonstrate that the proposed RLMA surpasses existing state-of-the-art algorithms in addressing this complex problem.