Dynamic operations and manpower scheduling for high-mix, low-volume precision engineering manufacturing

The shop floor of a Precision Engineer- ing (PE) company is a typical high-mix low-volume job shop environment in which jobs with variable routings are being processed by machines capable of performing multiple operations. In most scenarios, it is also staffed with skilled craftsman with different job grades and working on different shift patterns. In addition, the production floor is always subjected to ad-hoc and last minute urgent customer orders. This paper aims to explore and analyze a new heuristics and optimization algorithm to solve the dynamic op- erations and manpower scheduling problems in this complex environment. With this system, companies would be able to improve their delivery performance through effective handling of ad-hoc customer orders and the ability to react to deviations or unplanned events in production.