Dynamic scheduling of flexible manufacturing systems using a real-time genetic algorithm

The paper presents a genetic algorithm capable of generating optimised production plans in flexible manufacturing systems. The ability of the system to generate alternative plans following part-flow changes and unforeseen situations is particularly stressed (dynamic scheduling). Two contrasting objectives represented by the reduction of machine idle-times, thanks to dynamic scheduling computation and the reduction of the makespan, are taken into account by the proposed system. The key-point is the real-time response obtained by an optimised evolutionary strategy capable of minimising the number of genetic operations needed to reach the optimal schedule in complex manufacturing systems.