Scheduling Optimization in FlexSim

Introduction

manufacturing, production planning and scheduling is a daily task. Thus, the cost of production
depends to a great deal on scheduling decisions; e.g. the scheduling of order sequence or setup
work. Most scheduling decisions are often characterized by complex constraints, which make it
very difficult to find an optimum solution. In FlexSim, a user can optimize the production schedule
via a tool called OptQuest.
OptQuest uses an advanced technique called metaheuristics, a type of search algorithm which leads
the user towards better solutions. It combines Tabu search, scatter search, integer programming,
and neural networks into a single, composite search algorithm which gives very accurate optimal
solutions.

Figure 1: The Product Manufacturing Sequence

Scheduling Optimization Example

Assume we have to manufacture 10 different products that require 3 machining steps and each
product has a different process time for each of the three machine steps. A simple 10 job 3 machine
problem is built in FlexSim, with two Global Tables that store the Product Sequence and Processing
Times.
The objective is to find the optimal job sequence, which will provide the minimum Fabrication or
lead time to manufacture all 10 products. Since we have to determine the optimal sequence and
thus the minimum lead time we assume each row of Product Sequence table as a variable in
Experimenter tab. The objective function is to minimize the Fabrication Time and there are no
constraints.
Once the Optimizer is configured, the user runs the optimization by clicking on the Optimize button
to generate the results. All results with the best solution can be viewed in Optimizer results tab by
using the Export to CSV option.

Figure 2: Creating variables in OptQuest

Figure 3: Optimization results

Initial Sequence for
products
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Optimum Sequence
for products
st
1
5
nd
2
3
rd
3
8
th
4
4
th
5
6
th
6
1
th
7
2
th
8
7
th
9
9
th
10
10
Fabrication time
163.26(10.38 %
182.17
(Make Span)(min)
decrease)
Table 1: Result from Optimization