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

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Zhang, Shishun, Xu, Juzhan, Fan, Yidan, Zhu, Chenyang, Hu, Ruizhen, Wang, Yongjun, Xu, Kai
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Zhang, Shishun
Xu, Juzhan
Fan, Yidan
Zhu, Chenyang
Hu, Ruizhen
Wang, Yongjun
Xu, Kai
author_facet Zhang, Shishun
Xu, Juzhan
Fan, Yidan
Zhu, Chenyang
Hu, Ruizhen
Wang, Yongjun
Xu, Kai
contents 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.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_24180
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Learning Flexible Job Shop Scheduling under Limited Buffers and Material Kitting Constraints
Zhang, Shishun
Xu, Juzhan
Fan, Yidan
Zhu, Chenyang
Hu, Ruizhen
Wang, Yongjun
Xu, Kai
Artificial Intelligence
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.
title Learning Flexible Job Shop Scheduling under Limited Buffers and Material Kitting Constraints
topic Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.24180