Ant system based optimization algorithm and its applications in identical parallel machine scheduling

Identical parallel machine scheduling problem for minimizing the makespan is a very important production scheduling problem. When its scale is large, many difficulties will arise in the course of solving identical parallel machine scheduling problem. Ant system based optimization algorithm (ASBOA) has shown great advantages in solving the combinatorial optimization problem in view of its characteristics of high efficiency and suitability for practical applications. In this paper, an ASBOA for minimizing the makespan in identical machine scheduling problem is presented. Two different scale numerical examples demonstrate that the ASBOA proposed is efficient and fit for large-scale identical parallel machine scheduling problem for minimizing the makespan, the quality of its solution has advantages over heuristic procedure and simulated annealing method, as well as genetic algorithm.