PRODUCTION SCHEDULING - AN INTERACTIVE GRAPHICAL APPROACH

This project developed an interactive computer graphics approach to co nstruction and modification of schedules for a work center. The system handles problems involving sequence-dependent setup times for product s of the work center and penalties for both early and late completion of jobs. A schedule of jobs is displayed as a Gantt chart. Jobs appear as color-coded bars whose lengths represent setup and processing time s. If a job follows another of the same color, there is no setup time. The user can manually revise a schedule by ''drag and drop'' manipula tion of the job icons and can invoke built-in routines to automaticall y reschedule. The system displays a number of quality measures and oth er schedule implications to aid the user in evaluating schedules. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc.