Otimo and Job-Shop Scheduling Problem
Planning in production processes
Production scheduling problems
By definition, warehouse and production processes are characterized by high complexity and dynamics, and are also exposed to the occurence of unpredictable events. Therefore, the issue of task planning while taking into account many variables, so as to optimize the use of resources, and at the same time anticipating and preparing for potential disruptions or downtime, is one of the important challenges for decision-makers in the logistics industry.
The job-shop problem (abbreviated as JSP), or job-shop scheduling, concerns the scheduling of tasks on production lines or in warehouse halls. In the literature, the job-shop problem is referred to as the socket problem and, along with flow-shop and open-shop, is one of the three main production scheduling problems (taking into account the type of the system under consideration). Flow-shop is the simplest problem - operations are performed without interruption and each machine performs tasks in the same order. It is used, among others, on assembly lines. Open-shop, on the other hand, is an open-ended problem, where there is no definition of the consequences between the particular operations of the process. Thus, the search for a solution is very time-consuming and the number of different scheduling variants is very large.
JSP - short characteristics
What is the Job-Shop Scheduling Problem?
The job-shop problem is the most general and universal of scheduling problems. It assumes a complete order of tasks and operations and adopts specific guidelines and limitations resulting from technology (e.g. no machine can perform more than one operation at the same time). The problem consists in determining the optimal solution that will reduce the resources involved (time, machines, employees) for performing all operations of the considered process (Lukasz Sobaszek, Arkadiusz Gola, Antoni Swić,, Analysis of the Job-shop problem taking into account disruptions in the production process).
OTIMO AND JSP
How does Otimo fit into this and
how can we help you?
JSP is one of the areas that we focus on the most at Otimo. We not only develop job-shop scheduling algorithms, but on their basis we have been also creating a ready-made optimizer in the form of an API (Otimo Solver), which can be easily integrated into any WMS system.
Otimo Solver optimizes the scheduling of processes in warehouse halls or on production lines enabling:
The ordering of tasks in order to utilize resources as efficiently as possible: machinery, vehicles, skilled and unskilled personnel, service points and rooms.
The estimation and control of how many sorters, people, vehicles and other means of transport are needed to handle a given number of shipments per day.
The reduction of the demand for rolling stock and human resources to handle a specific number of orders.
The control over the distribution and release of goods in the warehouse as well as over the execution of orders so as to ship them within a given time window.
The fastest possible response to failures and minimizing downtime.
More effective planning and more efficient supply chain management.