A new heuristic operator for job shop scheduling problems

Job shop scheduling problem is a NP-hard question. This paper proposes a new heuristic operator: activating operator; By means of shifting schedules into the most closed active schedules, the operator can limit the searching space (or make it close) to active schedules, which by far increases the possibility of finding the optimal solution. Because of the strong optimizing ability of the activating operator, using it in various algorithm to solve JSP, such as genetic algorithm and simulated annealing algorithm, can promote their efficiency and precision. Experiment results showed the operator's outstanding improvement to the SA and the GA.