A Research Framework for Energy Efficient Distributed Flow Shop Scheduling in Intelligent Production Systems

In intelligent production scheduling, advanced algorithms are employed to develop optimal production schedules for the shop floor. Industries all over the world are now adopting various energy conservation policies due to the rapid depletion of energy sources. Energy efficient scheduling has emerged as an economical tool to conserve energy in intelligent production systems. To survive the fierce competition in the context of globalization, manufacturing companies have adopted the strategy of distributed manufacturing, where production facilities are located at different geographical locations. This article presents a research framework for energy efficient distributed scheduling in flow shop environment. The proposed framework has three phases, the formulation phase, the solution methodology phase, and the experimentation phase. The various inputs that need to be included in each phase are detailed with examples. This framework is proposed as an attempt to standardize the research works in the field of energy efficient distributed flow shop scheduling.