Article ID: | iaor1999184 |
Country: | United States |
Volume: | 45 |
Issue: | 2 |
Start Page Number: | 141 |
End Page Number: | 164 |
Publication Date: | Mar 1998 |
Journal: | Naval Research Logistics |
Authors: | Agnetis A., Rossi F., Gristina G. |
Keywords: | programming: integer |
This paper deals with the problem of makespan minimization in a flow shop with two machines when the input buffer of the second machine can only host a limited number of parts. Here we analyze the problem in the context of batch processing, i.e., when identical parts must be processed consecutively. We propose an exact branch-and-bound algorithm, in which the bounds exploit the batching nature of the problem. Extensive computational results show the effectiveness of the approach, and allow us to compare it with a previous heuristic approach.