A Workshop Scheduling and Optimization Method Based on Multi-Process Workflow Simulation

Workshop producing systems can be described by different types of models. As some systems are too sophisticated for mathematical model or petri-net model to use, a multi-process workflow model for workshop scheduling and optimization is proposed. In this way, the workshop producing process can be modeled and simulated in workflow simulation systems and important running statistics including waiting time or queue length can be obtained. Based on basic Particle Swarm Optimization (P.S.O) algorithm, a new scheduling algorithm taking advantage of the average waiting time of activities is developed and applied to a real world scenario. The results of basic P.S.O algorithm and the new algorithm are analyzed and compared, while the new algorithm is found to be more efficient than the basic one.