Designing a tabu search algorithm for the two-stage flow shop problem with secondary criterion

Abstract

This paper discusses the process of desigining a tabu search-based heuristic for the two-stage flow shop problem with makespan minimization as the primary criterion and the minimization of total flow time as the secondary criterion. A factorial experiment is designed to analyse thoroughly the effects of four different factors, i.e. the initial solution, type of move, size of neighbourhood and the list size, on the performance of the tabu search-based heuristic. Using the techniques of evolution curves, and response tables and response graphs, coupled with the Taguchi method, the best combination of the factors for the tabu search-based heuristic is identified, and the effectiveness of the heuristic algorithm in finding an optimal solution is evaluated by comparing its performance with the best known heuristic to solve this problem.