Managing genetic search in job shop scheduling

The Vanderbilt Schedule Optimizer Prototype (VSOP), which uses genetic algorithms as search methods for job shop scheduling problems, is discussed. A job shop is a facility that produces goods according to prespecified process plans, under several domain-dependent and common sense constraints. The scheduling of orders in a job shop is a multifaceted problem. VSOP uses domain-specific chromosome representations, recombination operators, and local enumerative search to increase efficiency. Experimental results from a fully implemented VSOP package are presented.<>