A heuristic procedure for scheduling packaging lines in process industries

Process industries produce non-differentiable products which are packaged into a variety of sizes during the final production stage. In this environment, product family changeovers are performed during an off-shift period, while item changeovers, which are shorter in duration, may be performed during a shift. A heuristic for scheduling packaging lines is presented where a family setup cost is charged for an off-shift changeover and item lot sizes are determined subject to limited capacity and setup times.