Ant system based algorithm for scheduling problem

For nonhomogeneous parallel machines, the scheduling problem of minimizing the makespan is a very important problem. When its scale is large, there have been many difficulties in the course of solving such a problem. Ant system based optimization algorithms have shown great advantages in solving combinatorial optimization problems in view of its characteristic that it has high efficiency and that it is fit for practical application. In this article, a kind of ant system based algorithm for minimizing the makespan in a nonhomogeneous machine scheduling problem is presented. Two different scale numerical examples demonstrate that the ant system based algorithm proposed is efficient and fit for larger scale scheduling problems for minimizing the makespan. The quality of its solution has advantage over heuristic procedures and the simulated annealing method, as well as genetic algorithm.