An enhanced MPS solution for FMS using GAs

Presents the master production scheduling (MPS) problem of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). Earliness/tardiness production scheduling and planning (ETPSP) is one of the solutions used to integrate MRP and JIT effectively. Previous researches on ETPSP have only applied to problems of single/parallel machines with earliness and tardiness penalties on a common due date and capacity. Proposes a revised ETPSP for the purpose of developing an MPS that can fit into the FMS environment where a multiple machine capacity on multi-processes and batch sizes is included. Outlines the application of an enhanced ETPSP method using a genetic algorithm (GA) solution to solve a multi-product FMS production problem. Shows that the use of the improved ETPSP model can represent a real life FMS environment and that a solution can be effectively and efficiently obtained using the GA approach.