ACO-LS Algorithm for Solving No-wait Flow Shop Scheduling Problem

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a metaheuristic approach for the no-wait flow shop scheduling problem with respect to the makespan criterion. In the literature, this problem is known NP-hard type. In the literature, several algorithms have been proposed to solve this problem. We propose a hybridization of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm with local search (LS) in order to solve this scheduling problem, and then we call this as ACO-LS algorithm. This local search technique contributes to improve the quality of the resulting solutions. In addition, the mechanism of insert-remove technique is developed to help the searching of solution escape from the local optimum. The proposed algorithm is tested with the 31 well-known flow shop benchmark instance. The computational results based on well-known benchmarks and statistical performance comparisons are also reported. It is shown that the proposed ACO-LS algorithm is more effective than hybrid differential evolution (HDE) algorithm [Qian B., et.al, Computer & Industrial Engineering, 2009].