Scheduling in Multistage Flowshop Systems : An Application in the Food Processing Industry

A heuristic algorithm, designed for freeze‐drying operations in the food processing industry, is developed for a multistage system with parallel machines and resource constraints. The system is extremely complex owing to factors such as stage capacities, resource constraints and requirements, set‐up charges, product mix, order sizes, and co‐ordination of multiple stages. The primary objectives are meeting due dates, minimizing workflow time, and maximizing equipment utilization. The system is implemented to generate production schedules in a microcomputer‐based operating environment.