Abstract
Several orders are processed simultaneously while sharing limited resources in the job shop production floor. If an order is viewed as a project, each order can be regarded as the scheduling of a concurrent project. When many orders are handled, several specific resources tend to receive concentrated load; thus, conflicts are always generated. For this reason, scheduling optimization becomes an extremely difficult task. Furthermore, even if a schedule has been obtained, load balancing actions may not be found when a delay in the due date is generated. We solved this problem by studying critical paths contained in schedules of concurrent projects. A novel approach is proposed in this paper for planning load balancing actions by detecting and analyzing critical paths based on Linear Programming. By this approach, a scheduling manager can determine efficient load balancing actions with computer support.
