Learning Flexible Job Shop Scheduling under Limited Buffers and Material Kitting Constraints

TL;DR

This paper introduces a deep reinforcement learning approach using heterogeneous graph networks to improve flexible job shop scheduling with limited buffers and material kitting constraints, enhancing efficiency and decision quality.

Contribution

It develops a novel DRL framework with graph-based state modeling to better handle complex dependencies and constraints in practical scheduling scenarios.

Findings

Outperforms traditional heuristics in makespan reduction

Reduces the number of pallet changes during scheduling

Balances solution quality with computational efficiency

Abstract

The Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP) originates from real production lines, while some practical constraints are often ignored or idealized in current FJSP studies, among which the limited buffer problem has a particular impact on production efficiency. To this end, we study an extended problem that is closer to practical scenarios--the Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem with Limited Buffers and Material Kitting. In recent years, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has demonstrated considerable potential in scheduling tasks. However, its capacity for state modeling remains limited when handling complex dependencies and long-term constraints. To address this, we leverage a heterogeneous graph network within the DRL framework to model the global state. By constructing efficient message passing among machines, operations, and buffers, the network focuses on avoiding decisions that may cause frequent pallet changes during long-sequence scheduling, thereby helping improve buffer utilization and overall decision quality. Experimental results on both synthetic and real production line datasets show that the proposed method outperforms traditional heuristics and advanced DRL methods in terms of makespan and pallet changes, and also achieves a good balance between solution quality and computational cost. Furthermore, a supplementary video is provided to showcase a simulation system that effectively visualizes the progression of the production line.