Minimizing the total completion time on a multi-machine FMS using flower pollination algorithm

This paper deals with simultaneous scheduling of machines, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and tools in a multi-machine flexible manufacturing system (FMS) considering the transfer times of jobs to minimize makespan (MSN). Only one copy of each type of tools is made available due to economic restrictions, and the tools are stored in a central tool magazine (CTM) that shares with and serves for several machines. Jobs and tools among machines are carried by AGVs and tool transporter (TT). This simultaneous scheduling problem is highly complex in nature as it involves job operations sequencing on machines, allocation of tools and AGVs to job operations and associated trip operations including the times of dead heading trip and loaded trip of AGVs. This paper presents a nonlinear mixed integer programming (MIP) formulation to model the combined scheduling of machines, AGVs and tools and a flower pollination algorithm (FPA) built on the flowers' pollination process for solving this simultaneous scheduling problem. The results indicate the proposed FPA is superior in terms of final solution quality, efficiency, convergence rate and robustness.