this paper considers the problem of scheduling hybrid flowshops with machine availability constraints (mac) to minimize makespan. the paper deals with a specific case of mac caused by preventive maintenance (pm) operations. contrary to previous papers considering fixed or/and conservative policies, we explore a case in which pm activities might be postponed or expedited while necessary. regardi...

The Genetic Algorithm (GA) has been used widely to solve an array of combinatorial optimization problems such as the traveling salesman problem, the job-shop scheduling problem, the quadratic assignment problem, and production planning problems. On the other hand, solving the problem of Preventive Maintenance (PM) scheduling for a group of non-identical machines using a GA is a relatively new t...

This work explores the potential of Music-Inspired Harmony Search (MIHS), meta-heuristic technique, in the area of power system for Generator Maintenance Scheduling (GMS). MIHS has been used to generate optimal preventive maintenance schedule for generators to maintain reliable and economical power system operation taking into account the maintenance window, load and crew constraints. The robus...

In this paper, we consider joint scheduling of jobs and preventive maintenance operations on a single machine with an objective to minimize the total earliness and tardiness of jobs about a common due date. The properties of an optimal schedule are identified and utilized to develop a constructive heuristic and a lower bound estimate. The properties are also utilized to hybridize Tabu search a...

Research on preventative rail maintenance to date majors small or artificial problem instances, not applicable real-world use cases. This article tackles large, scheduling problems. Maintenance costs and availability of the infrastructure need be optimized, while adhering a set complex constraints. We develop compare three generic approaches: an evolution strategy, greedy metaheuristic, hybrid ...

Competitiveness and rapid expansion of flexible manufacturing system (FMS), as one of the industrial alternatives, has attracted the attention of many practitioners and academicians. Globalization has further encouraged FMS development into distributed, self-reliant units of production center. Flexible manufacturing system in distributed system (FMSDS) considers multi-factory environments, wher...

In this paper, Generator Maintenance Scheduling (GMS) in a vertically integrated power system is considered. The objective of the GMS problem is to find the particular time interval for maintenance of power generating units with an intention of maximizing the security of the power system. In this paper, scheduling of generating units for planned preventive maintenance is formulated as a mixed i...

In this paper, open shop scheduling problems with limited machine availability are studied. Such a limited availability of machines may appear in many real-life situations, e.g. as preventive maintenance activities. Three types of jobs are distinguished: nonpreemptable, resumable and preemptable. An operation of a resumable job if not completed before a non-availability period of a machine may ...

This paper focuses on a stochastic scheduling problem in which n immediately available jobs are to be scheduled jointly with the preventive maintenance in a single machine subject to breakdowns. The objective is to minimize expected total earliness and tardiness costs with a common due-date. The problem of scheduling only n jobs to minimize total earliness and tardiness costs in a single machin...