A problem space genetic algorithm in multiobjective optimization

In this study, a problem space genetic algorithm (PSGA) is used to solve bicriteria tool management and scheduling problems simultaneously in flexible manufacturing systems. The PSGA is used to generate approximately efficient solutions minimizing both the manufacturing cost and total weighted tardiness. This is the first implementation of PSGA to solve a multiobjective optimization problem (MOP). In multiobjective search, the key issues are guiding the search towards the global Pareto-optimal set and maintaining diversity. A new fitness assignment method, which is used in PSGA, is proposed to find a well-diversified, uniformly distributed set of solutions that are close to the global Pareto set. The proposed fitness assignment method is a combination of a nondominated sorting based method which is most commonly used in multiobjective optimization literature and aggregation of objectives method which is popular in the operations research literature. The quality of the Pareto-optimal set is evaluated by using the performance measures developed for multiobjective optimization problems.