Human-centered production scheduling in a flexible and robotic manufacturing workshop

Effective scheduling is critical in machining manufacturing to ensure efficient production flow and meet strict delivery timelines. This paper presents a novel approach to optimizing production scheduling in flexible and robotic manufacturing environments, specifically within a Reentrant Hybrid Flow Shop (RHFS). The proposed method integrates human-system interaction considerations with a hybrid decision-making framework, addressing key challenges such as coordinating robotic movements, minimizing setup times, optimizing machine allocation, and managing intermediate stocks. A mathematical model and heuristic approach were developed to tackle these complexities, leading to significant reductions in overall production time and ensuring compliance with delivery deadlines. The results demonstrate substantial improvements in production efficiency and competitiveness, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), by effectively combining advanced manufacturing technologies with human oversight.