Graphical Representations for the Robustness Analysis of Schedules

摘要

These last years, robustness has become an essential issue for scheduling problems. In the related literature, the robustness of schedules is generally evaluated in a quantitative manner, using different possible measures. In this paper, robustness is addressed from a more qualitative viewpoint. Emphasis is mainly put on flowshop scheduling problems. Two graphical representations of scheduling solutions are proposed to assist the decision maker in understanding the consequences of possible perturbations, so that a suited decision about which solution to choose can be made. The first approach shows in what extend disruptions can be admitted without any consequences on the total tardiness. It also allows critical periods, where no disruption can be admitted, to be identified. The second approach aims at representing the consequences of disruptions, of different length and different occurrences, on the total tardiness. The example of a flow shop problem illustrates the benefits of these graphical approaches to compare two candidate schedules.