Path based representation for simultaneous resolution of batching and scheduling

Abstract

Production scheduling plays a fundamental role in achieving the efficient operation of a multiproduct batch plant. The difficulty of the problem and the number of variants that can be presented has made it an area of constant research, development of models and resolution strategies. Usually the scheduling problem has been solved in a simplified way, having as data the number and size of batches necessary to satisfy the demand. However, the simultaneous resolution of batching and scheduling generally leads to better solutions. The models developed to address these problems simultaneously are highly computationally complex, due to their combinatorial nature, so achieving the development of efficient models that allows addressing large problems continues to be a challenge. In this work is presented a new mixed-integer linear model (MILP) for the simultaneous resolution of batching and scheduling in a multistage batch plant, with different units operating in parallel and out of phase in each stage.