Integrated Production–Logistics Scheduling in Flexible Assembly Shops Using an Improved Genetic Algorithm
Achieving high operational efficiency in modern manufacturing requires the seamless integration of production scheduling and intralogistics coordination. However, in flexible assembly shops, the decoupling between production sequencing and automated guided vehicle (AGV) routing often leads to resource conflicts, unbalanced workloads, and inefficient energy utilization. To address this challenge, this study proposes an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) for integrated production–logistics scheduling. The innovation lies in a triple-chain encoding strategy that concurrently represents production, transportation, and time-window constraints, coupled with adaptive crossover and mutation operators for enhanced population diversity. Furthermore, a time-window-constrained Dijkstra routing mechanism is incorporated to prevent AGV conflicts and improve synchronization between machines and logistics. Two representative shop-floor scenarios—baseline and disturbed conditions—were designed for validation. Comparative experiments against a standard genetic algorithm (GA) and a two-stage heuristic demonstrate that the IGA achieves 9.5% and 6.7% reductions in average makespan, respectively, while maintaining less than 1% deviation under 10% random disturbances. Statistical tests (p < 0.01, Cohen’s d > 1.4) confirm the method’s robustness and practical effectiveness. The proposed approach provides a reliable and implementable optimization framework that enhances coordination between production and AGV systems in flexible assembly environments and offers a practical reference for smart manufacturing scheduling and digital twin applications.
Authors
- Bin Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6509-4173)
- Xiaotong Wang
- Jie Fu
- Yuanrong Zhang
- Lei Wang
- Jiarui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0301-5016)
- Zhixing Chang
Institutions
- Tianjin University (CN)
- Tianjin Special Equipment Supervision and Inspection Technology Research Institute (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Machines
- Published
- 2025-11-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/machines13121090
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Digital Transformation in Industry
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.24
Funders
- Tianjin University