Scheduling a manufacturing plant using simulated annealing and simulation

A technique for scheduling a class of manufacturing plants is described. The technique uses a simulated annealing module to create partial schedules, which are then completed and evaluated by a simulation module. The simulation module is equipped with a number of rules which it uses to complete schedules. A mathematical specification is given defining the type of scheduling problem with which we have been concerned. The derivation of a mixed integer linear programming model from this specification is discussed. The complexity of such a model for practical instances justifies the use of heuristic approaches. Results from using our approach on a case study derived from a real-world problem are presented.