A Shuffled Frog-Leaping Algorithm with Cooperations for Distributed Assembly Hybrid-Flow Shop Scheduling with Factory Eligibility

The distributed assembly scheduling problem with a hybrid-flow shop for fabrication is seldom studied, and some real-life constraints such as factory eligibility are seldom handled. In this study, a distributed assembly hybrid-flow shop-scheduling problem (DAHFSP) with factory eligibility is investigated, which has some symmetries on machines. A shuffled frog-leaping algorithm with cooperations (CSFLA) is applied to minimize makespan. A problem-related feature is used. Memeplexes are evaluated, and group 1, with the two best memeplexes, and group 2, with the two worst memeplexes, are formed. A new cooperation between memeplexes and an adaptive search strategy are implemented in groups 1 and 2, respectively. An adaptive cooperation between groups 1 and 2 is also given. Population shuffling is executed every T generations. A number of computational experiments are conducted. Computational results demonstrate that new strategies are effective and CSFLA is a very competitive algorithm for DAHFSP with factory eligibility.