The multi– mode resource– constrained project scheduling problem with generalized precedence relations

• Main Authors: DE REYCK, Bert, HERROELEN, Willy
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 1999
• Subjects: Project management; Planning and scheduling; Generalized precedence relations; Multiple activity modes; Heuristics; Local search; Tabu search; Business Administration, Management, and Operations; Management Information Systems
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6745; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/7760/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S0377221799001514_main.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In this paper, we tackle the challenging problem of scheduling activities to minimize the project duration, in which the activities (a) are subject to generalized precedence relations, (b) require units of multiple renewable, non-renewable and doubly constrained resources for which a limited availability is imposed, and (c) can be performed in one of several different ways, reflected in multiple activity scenarios or modes. These multiple modes give rise to several kinds of tradeoffs (time/resource, time/cost and resource/resource trade-offs) which allow for a more effcient allocation and use of resources. We present a local search-based solution methodology which is able to handle many real-life project scheduling characteristics such as time-varying resource requirements and availabilities, activity ready times, due dates and deadlines, activity overlaps, activity start time constraints and other types of temporal constraints.