A Tabu Search Algorithm to Minimize Lateness in Scheduling Problems with Setup Times

We face the Job Shop Scheduling Problem with Sequence Dependent Setup Times and maximum lateness minimization as objective function. We propose a disjunctive graph representation for this problem that allows to define the concept of critical path properly. From this representation, we have defined a neighborhood structure suitable to cope with lateness minimization. This neighborhood structure is exploited in combination with a Tabu Search algorithm. We report results from an experimental study across conventional benchmark instances showing that this approach outperforms some of the current state-of-the-art methods.