Evaluation of metaheuristics performances in manipulation of alternative routing

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a simulation study of a typical flexible manufacturing system (FMS) that has routing flexibility. The objective in this study is to compare the following metaheuristics performances (Ant colony, genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, taboo search, particle swarm) with methods of selection of alternative routing in real time DMM (Dissimilarity Maximization Method) and modified DMM (modified Dissimilarity Maximization Method) in order to have an idea on the effectiveness from these metaheuristics and select the most effective. Results obtained after several simulations of this model FMS showed that all metaheuristics clearly improved the production rate, the utilisation ratio of the various machines and the utilisation ratio of the material handling system, for a saturated FMS and even in the presence of breakdowns.