A heuristic approach to batching and scheduling a single machine to minimize setup costs

In this paper we consider the problem of creating batches of parts, to be processed in a flexible manufacturing cell, and scheduling their operations. We consider the case in which the system consists of one machine and at most k parts may be present in the system at the same time. Given that each part requires a sequence of operations, and each operation requires a given tool, the objective is to minimize the total number of setups. We develop a heuristic algorithm for its solution and we present an extensive computational experience.