Solving the scheduling problem of steel-making and continuous-casting using genetic algorithm

The manufacturing flow between steel-making and continuous-casting is a complex multi-phase and multi-product production process. The production scheduling problem in this flow can be seen as Job Shop Problem. An improved genetic algorithm for solving this problem is proposed. Fourteen benchmarks are comparatively investigated and it shows that the improved genetic algorithm has the better capability of finding the optimized solution than traditional genetic algorithm. The production scheduling problem between steel-making and continuous-casting with sixteen plans and six procedures is processed using the improved algorithm and the result shows the improved genetic algorithm is effective.