Scheduling jobs on machine cells with some processing constraints

This paper presents an approach for scheduling jobs on machine cells with some processing constraints. A machine cell is a group of some machines. It is a managing unit in a shop. The shop managers assign the personnel and jobs to every cell. The components of cells can be changed with the demands of processed products and managers, which brings about great convenience in the management of semiautomatic manufacturing shops. However, it also increases the complexity of the scheduling problem in such shop. There are various types of cells in a shop. The authors give different scheduling approaches to different types of cells. As to the scheduling algorithm, they advance the WCPM (weighted critical path method) which optimizes the typical CPM and obtains a more satisfactory scheduling result. This approach has been used to implement a job-shop scheduling system for use in a Japanese factory producing flexible circuit boards.