Flow Shop Scheduling Algorithm

Flow shop scheduling has remained a persistent optimization challenge in industrial engineering for decades. To tackle this problem, various heuristic methods have been developed that utilize intuitive rule-based approaches which are computationally efficient and easily implementable. One such method incorporates a window-based interface for parameter configuration, allowing users to input key control parameters through GUI components. The algorithm implementation typically involves initialization functions for parameter handling, scheduling logic that processes jobs through sequential workstations, and visualization modules that generate real-time simulation graphs and convergence curves. These visual outputs demonstrate the algorithm's performance in minimizing makespan or other optimization criteria, providing valuable insights for production efficiency improvement. The convergence curve plotting functionality, often implemented using matplotlib or similar libraries, tracks solution quality improvement over iterations, while the simulation diagram visually represents job flow through the production system.