A new formulation and solution of the flowshop scheduling problem with no in-process waiting

To date, all models reported in the literature relating to the flowshop sequencing problem with no in-process waiting, have been based on single objective optimization. This paper presents a mixed integer goal programming model of the generalized N job, M machine standard flowshop problem with no in-process waiting, i.e. no intermediate queues. Instead of optimization being based on a single objective, the most satisfactory sequence is derived subject to user specified selection of the pre-emptive goals: makespan, flowtime, and machine idle time. Computational results of sample problems illustrating the advantage of a multiple criteria selection method are shown.