A hybrid approach for integer programming combining genetic algorithms, linear programming and ordinal optimization

Hybrid methods are promising tools in integer programming, as they combine the best features of different methods in a complementary fashion. This paper presents such a framework, integrating the notions of genetic algorithm, linear programming, and ordinal optimization in an effort to shorten computation times for large and/or difficult integer programming problems. Capitalizing on the central idea of ordinal optimization and on the learning capability of genetic algorithms to quickly generate good feasible solutions, and then using linear programming to solve the problem that results from fixing the integer part of the solution, one may be able to obtain solutions that are close to optimal. Indeed ordinal optimization guarantees the quality of the solutions found. Numerical testing on a real-life complex scheduling problem demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of this approach.