Resource Constrained Multi-Project Scheduling Problem with Resource Transfer Times

Scheduling multi-project is a complex decision making process. It involves the effective and timely allocation of resources to different projects. In the case of multi-project, resources are often transferred between the projects. It consumes both time and cost, when projects are situated in different geographic locations. As a result, the net present value (NPV) of multi-projects is significantly impacted by the resource transfer time. In this paper, a new genetic algorithm (GA) approach to the multi-project scheduling problem with resource transfer times is presented, where the NPV of all projects is maximized subject to renewable resource constraints. The paper also presents a heuristic approach using two phase priority rules for the same problem. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of 60 two-phase priority rules. The proposed GA approach is compared to the heuristic approach using the well-known priority rules. An extensive computational experiment is reported.

[1]  Chandrasekharan Rajendran,et al.  Scheduling in resource-constrained multiple projects to minimise the weighted tardiness and weighted earliness of projects , 2010 .

[2]  Chee-Chuong Sum,et al.  An evaluation of due date, resource allocation, project release, and activity scheduling rules in a multiproject environment , 1997 .

[3]  Rainer Kolisch,et al.  PSPLIB - A project scheduling problem library: OR Software - ORSEP Operations Research Software Exchange Program , 1997 .

[4]  Kum Khiong Yang,et al.  A comparison of resource allocation and activity scheduling rules in a dynamic multi-project environment , 1993 .

[5]  I. Kurtulus,et al.  Multi-Project Scheduling: Categorization of Heuristic Rules Performance , 1982 .

[6]  James Herbert Patterson,et al.  Alternate Methods of Project Scheduling with Limited Resources , 1973 .

[7]  Gerald Benjamin Siegel.  An investigation of job shop scheduling for jobs with assembly constraints , 1971 .

[8]  Erik Demeulemeester,et al.  RanGen: A Random Network Generator for Activity-on-the-Node Networks , 2003, J. Sched..

[9]  Mitsuo Gen,et al.  Hybrid genetic algorithm with fuzzy logic for resource-constrained project scheduling , 2003, Appl. Soft Comput..

[10]  Huan Neng Chiu,et al.  Two heuristics for scheduling multiple projects with resource constraints , 1996 .

[11]  Douglas B. Bock,et al.  A Comparison of Due Date Setting, Resource Assignment, and Job Preemption Heuristics for the Multiproject Scheduling Problem* , 1990 .

[12]  Madan Lal Mittal,et al.  Two-phase heuristics for scheduling of multiple projects , 2009 .

[13]  Pankaj Dutta,et al.  Analysis of an EPC project: a solution to the resource constrained project scheduling problem using genetic algorithms , 2011 .

[14]  Said Salhi,et al.  An investigation into the relationship of heuristic performance with network-resource characteristics , 1997 .

[15]  K. Raja,et al.  Multi-project scheduling using an heuristic and a genetic algorithm , 2006 .

[16]  Ario Ohsato,et al.  A genetic algorithm-based method for scheduling repetitive construction projects , 2009 .

[17]  Vincent A. Mabert,et al.  Evaluating project scheduling and due date assignment procedures: an experimental analysis , 1988 .

[18]  Ramón Alvarez-Valdés Olaguíbel,et al.  Chapter 5 – HEURISTIC ALGORITHMS FOR RESOURCE-CONSTRAINED PROJECT SCHEDULING: A REVIEW AND AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS , 1989 .

[19]  Rema Padman,et al.  An integrated survey of deterministic project scheduling , 2001 .

[20]  Mauricio G. C. Resende,et al.  A genetic algorithm for the resource constrained multi-project scheduling problem , 2008, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[21]  Chandrasekharan Rajendran,et al.  Scheduling in dynamic assembly job-shops to minimize the sum of weighted earliness, weighted tardiness and weighted flowtime of jobs , 2005, Comput. Ind. Eng..

[22]  Kum Khiong Yang,et al.  Scheduling a project to maximize its net present value: An integer programming approach , 1993 .

[23]  Chandrasekharan Rajendran,et al.  Scheduling in dynamic assembly job-shops with jobs having different holding and tardiness costs , 2003 .

[24]  Arun Kanda,et al.  Scheduling of multiple projects with resource transfers , 2009, Int. J. Math. Oper. Res..

[25]  Armin Scholl,et al.  A heuristic solution framework for the resource constrained (multi-)project scheduling problem with sequence-dependent transfer times , 2009 .

[26]  Francisco Ballestín,et al.  A hybrid genetic algorithm for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem , 2008, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[27]  María Pilar Tormos,et al.  Analysis of Scheduling Schemes and Heuristic Rules Performance in Resource-Constrained Multiproject Scheduling , 2001, Ann. Oper. Res..

[28]  Armin Scholl,et al.  Managing and modelling general resource transfers in (multi-)project scheduling , 2010, OR Spectr..

[29]  Sönke Hartmann,et al.  A competitive genetic algorithm for resource-constrained project scheduling , 1998 .

[30]  Chandrasekharan Rajendran,et al.  Performance analysis of scheduling rules in resource–constrained multiple projects , 2009 .

[31]  R. Kolisch,et al.  Heuristic algorithms for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem: classification and computational analysis , 1999 .