Genetic programming has rarely been applied to manufacturing optimisation problems. In this report we investigate the potential use of genetic programming for the solution of the one-machine total tardiness problem. Combinations of dispatching rules are employed as an indirect way of representing permutations within a modified genetic programming framework. Hybridisation of genetic programming with local search techniques is also introduced, in an attempt to improve the quality of solutions. All the algorithms are tested on a large number of benchmark problems with different levels of tardiness and tightness of due dates.
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