A hybrid method for planning and scheduling

Abstract. We combine mixed integer linear programming (MILP) and constraint programming (CP) to solve planning and scheduling problems. Tasks are allocated to facilities using MILP and scheduled using CP, and the two are linked via logic-based Benders decomposition. Tasks assigned to a facility may run in parallel subject to resource constraints (cumulative scheduling). We solve minimum cost problems, as well as minimum makespan problems in which all tasks have the same release date and deadline. We obtain computational speedups of several orders of magnitude relative to the state of the art in both MILP and CP. We address a fundamental class of planning and scheduling problems for manufacturing and supply chain management. Tasks must be assigned to facilities and scheduled subject to release dates and deadlines. Tasks may run in parallel on a given facility provided the total resource consumption at any time remains with limits (cumulative scheduling). In our study the objective is to minimize cost or minimize makespan