Random search algorithm for scheduling production in a manufacturing shop

Abstract

Since 1954, when Mr. S. M. Johnson published a solution that minimized the time for completion of n jobs in two machines, research in production scheduling has been enormous. During the last 40 years, there has been a lot of improvement in the search for answers for more complex problems than the one solved by Johnson. However, despite technological advances, many of these problems are still waiting for a solution. This article exposes a solution to the problem of job shop scheduling based on the random search method, in which solutions are randomly generated and then the best obtained is saved. Although this technique doesn.t guarantee optimal solutions, it has proved to find very good solutions in short periods of time.