Simulation-based-optimization to solve a multiobjective hybrid flowshop scheduling problem

This paper deals with a multiobjective hybrid flowshop scheduling optimization problem. Due to the difficulty to develop a mathematical model of the studied problem in order to solve it with an analytical approach, an efficient simulation with ARENA is applied to model the considered flowshop. We have proposed a special pre-emption structure to ensure that the job sequence in each machine corresponds to the solution encoding of the resolution method. The latter is a well known multiobjective genetic algorithm NSGA-II which is applied to optimize the makespan and the total tardiness of the production. The results of the NSG A-II algorithm are compared with industrial solutions and an exact method for small size problems to prove the efficiency and the feasibility of the proposed algorithm.