Desert sparrow optimisation algorithm for permutation flowshop scheduling problems (Q2247427)

Summary: Permutation flowshop scheduling problems (PFSSP) with an objective to minimise the total elapsed time (makespan), are typically NP-hard in nature. Many heuristics and metaheuristics have been designed and developed to optimise makespan in flowshop scheduling environment. Better quality of metaheuristic approach depends on solution obtained by heuristic. In this paper, a nature inspired heuristic based on the biological characteristics of desert sparrow is proposed to optimise makespan in flowshop environment. The cooperative task allocation nature of desert sparrow is the basis to find the best initial feasible solution. Computational analysis depicts that proposed heuristic gives significantly better results than referred heuristics for the considered problem.