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A metaheuristic solution approach for the time-constrained project scheduling problem

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Abstract

In this paper, a metaheuristic solution procedure for the Time-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem is proposed, in which additional resources can be temporarily allocated to meet a given deadline. The problem consists of determining a schedule such that the project is completed on time and that the total additional cost for the resources is minimized. For this problem, an artificial immune system is proposed, in which each solution is represented by a vector of activity start times. A local search procedure, which tries to shift cost causing activities, is applied to each population schedule. Computational experiments are applied to modified resource-constrained project scheduling problem benchmark instances and reveal promising results.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partially funded by the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of industrial management Technologiepark 903, Ghent University, 9052, Zwijnaarde, Belgium

    Cédric Verbeeck & El-Houssaine Aghezzaf

  2. EDHEC Business School, 24 Avenue Gustave Delory, 59057, Roubaix, France

    Vincent Van Peteghem

  3. Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Tweekerkenstraat 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Mario Vanhoucke

  4. Department of Management Science and Innovation, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Mario Vanhoucke

  5. KU Leuven, Leuven Mobility Research Center, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Pieter Vansteenwegen

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  1. Cédric Verbeeck
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  2. Vincent Van Peteghem
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  4. Pieter Vansteenwegen
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  5. El-Houssaine Aghezzaf
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Correspondence to Cédric Verbeeck.

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Verbeeck, C., Van Peteghem, V., Vanhoucke, M. et al. A metaheuristic solution approach for the time-constrained project scheduling problem. OR Spectrum 39, 353–371 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00291-016-0458-7

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