A scheduling-specific modeling approach for real world scheduling

This paper investigates the complexities associated with real-world production scheduling scenarios. A scheduling- specific modeling approach is provided, which encourages the incorporation of management input, a scheduling classification system and the context in which the scheduling solution will be deployed, into the development of production scheduling algorithms. A differential evolution-based scheduling algorithm was developed to facilitate the completion of the first iteration of the process as applied to a real-world scheduling problem. Apart from the significance of the paper in developing a scheduling- specific approach geared towards reducing the development time of production scheduling algorithms, the benefit of an improved production schedule can be generalized to include cost reduction, customer satisfaction, improved profitability and overall competitive advantage.