Simulation-based optimization method for release control of a reentrant manufacturing system

Release control plays an important role in the operational performance of manufacturing systems. In this research, a simulation-based optimization method is proposed for the release control of a re-entrant manufacturing system. First, a simulation system is developed for a real re-entrant job shop. Secondly, a genetic algorithm, Memetic-climbing algorithm and Memetic-SA algorithm are designed to generate a near-optimal release control solution, respectively. Finally, the proposed methods are validated and verified by simulations. The simulation results show that the simulation-based optimization method has the ability to obtain near-optimal release control solutions in a reasonable time.