Multi-agent based approach for single machine scheduling with sequence-dependent setup times and machine maintenance

•A multi-agent based optimization approach is proposed for single machine scheduling problem.•Machine scheduling is performed under regular and irregular maintenance activities.•Single machine is scheduled when the job arrivals are dynamic.•A scheduling model for real-time manufacturing environments is proposed.•Distributed optimization is used for single machine scheduling.

Scheduling of single machine in manufacturing systems is especially complex when the order arrivals are dynamic. The complexity of the problem increases by considering the sequence-dependent setup times and machine maintenance in dynamic manufacturing environment. Computational experiments in literature showed that even solving the static single machine scheduling problem without considering regular maintenance activities is NP-hard. Multi-agent systems, a branch of artificial intelligence provide a new alternative way for solving dynamic and complex problems. In this paper a collaborative multi-agent based optimization method is proposed for single machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times and maintenance constraints. The problem is solved under the condition of both regular and irregular maintenance activities. The solutions of multi-agent based approach are compared with some static single machine scheduling problem sets which are available in the literature. The method is also tested under real-time manufacturing environment where computational time plays a critical role during decision making process.

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