Evaluation and Selection of Best Priority Sequencing Rule in Job Shop Scheduling using Hybrid MCDM Technique

Abstract

Priority Sequencing Rules provide the guidance for the order in which the jobs are to be processed at a workstation. The application of different priority rules in job shop scheduling gives different order of scheduling. More experimentation needs to be conducted before a final choice is made to know the best priority sequencing rule. Hence, a comprehensive method of selecting the right choice is essential in managerial decision making perspective. This paper considers seven different priority sequencing rules in job shop scheduling. For evaluation and selection of the best priority sequencing rule, a set of eight criteria are considered. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the methodology of evaluating and selecting the best priority sequencing rule by using hybrid multi criteria decision making technique (MCDM), i.e., analytical hierarchy process (AHP) with technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The criteria weights are calculated by using AHP whereas the relative closeness values of all priority sequencing rules are computed based on TOPSIS with the help of data acquired from the shop floor of a manufacturing firm. Finally, from the findings of this work, the priority sequencing rules are ranked from most important to least important. The comprehensive methodology presented in this paper is very much essential for the management of a workstation to choose the best priority sequencing rule among the available alternatives for processing the jobs with maximum benefit.