Abstract
This paper deals with a job shop scheduling problem with a multi-function machine. In this problem, the single function machine processes the specific operation of each job, and the multi-function machine can process all operations of any job. Therefore each operation must be determined so as to be processed by either the single function machine or the multi-function machine. The objective function of the problem is to minimize the completion time. A genetic algorithm is applied for solving this problem. Two procedures are proposed to revise the algorithm for dealing with this problem. One is to define a new chromosome in addition to the chromosome used in the conventional job shop problem. The other is to use a heuristic method for decoding the chromosome. The effectiveness is compared between the procedures by examining numerical results. Consequently, using a heuristic method is more effective than using two chromosomes.
