| Summary: | A multistage production system consists of a number of
production stages that are interrelated, that is the output
from one stage forms input to the next stage. There are
constraints associated with each stage as well as constraints
imposed by the overall system. Besides, there are multiple
objectives that need to be satisfied, and in numerous cases,
these objectives conflict with each other. What is required is
an efficient technique to allocate and schedule resources so
as to provide a balance between the conflicting objectives
within the system constraints.
This study is concerned with the problem of scheduling
multistage production systems in food processing industry. The
system and products have complex structure and relationships.
This makes the system difficult to be solved analytically.
Therefore, the problem is solved by developing a heuristic
algorithm that considers most of the constraints. The output
generated by the algorithm includes a production schedule
which specifies the starting and completion times of the
products in each stage and the machines where the products are
to be processed. In addition, a summary of system performances
including throughput times, resources' utilizations, and tardy
products is reported. === Graduation date: 1992
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