A Decomposition-based Local Search Algorithm for Multi-objective Sequence Dependent Setup Times Permutation Flowshop Scheduling

The flowshop scheduling problem (FSP) has been widely studied in the last decades, both in the single objective as well as in the multi-objective scenario. Besides, due to the real-world considerations on scheduling problems, the concern regarding sequence-dependent setup times has emerged. In this paper, we present a decomposition-based iterated local search algorithm (MOLS/D) to deal with the multi-objective sequence-dependent setup times permutation FSP. In order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed algorithm, we have conducted an experimental study on a set of 220 benchmark instances minimizing the criteria makespan and total weighted tardiness. The results, according to various performance metrics and statistical analysis, show that MOLS/D significantly outperforms a tailored MOEA/D variant and the best-known reference sets from the literature. Thus, we have established a state-of-the-art approach for the problem considered.