A Closed Loop Control Heuristic for Scheduling a Manufacturing System Subject to Random Setup Times

A real-time lot-sizing heuristic is developed for a high volume manufacturing system subject to significant, random setup times. The scheduling problem is modeled as a dynamic program, generating a threshold-type control policy. Simulation experiments indicate that closed loop feedback control is a feasible option for shop floor scheduling. A heuristic based on characteristics of the optimal control policy is developed. Numerical tests are provided which compare the heuristic with other controllers. Results show the heuristic performs identically to an optimal control policy and better than other widely used approaches.