Open Access

ARTICLE

Hybrid Flow Shop Rescheduling Approach Based on Hybrid-Driven Mechanism and Improved Multi-Objective WOA

Feng Lv^*, Xin Xu, Cheng Yang, Yixuan Tang

School of Mechatronics Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China

* Corresponding Author: Feng Lv. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advancements in Evolutionary Optimization Approaches: Theory and Applications)

Computers, Materials & Continua 2026, 88(1), 86 https://doi.org/10.32604/cmc.2026.079917

Received 30 January 2026; Accepted 09 April 2026; Issue published 08 May 2026

Abstract

To ensure an effective disturbance response and maintain continuous production in hybrid flow shops, this paper focuses on the design of a rescheduling method. A rescheduling model is constructed that minimizes the makespan, total tardiness, and scheme deviation degree. A hybrid rescheduling driving mechanism based on the latest completion time is designed to effectively trigger rescheduling. The Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is improved by integrating the good point set theory, nonlinear control parameter strategy, and Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm. Moreover, non-dominated sorting and a dynamic external archive mechanism based on crowding distance are introduced to make it suitable for multi-objective optimization problems. The superiority of the Improved Multi-objective Whale Optimization Algorithm (IMOWOA) and the effectiveness of the improved mechanisms are verified through comparative experiments and ablation experiments. Taking the final assembly production line of an agricultural machinery equipment enterprise as an example, a rescheduling scheme is generated based on the practical production requirements, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

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Keywords

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