IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jomega/v94y2020ics0305048318301750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A new hybrid heuristic algorithm for the Precedence Constrained Production Scheduling Problem: A mining application

Author

Listed:
  • Jélvez, Enrique
  • Morales, Nelson
  • Nancel-Penard, Pierre
  • Cornillier, Fabien

Abstract

In this work we address the Precedence Constrained Production Scheduling Problem (PCPSP), the problem of scheduling tasks in such a way that total profit is maximized, while satisfying conditions such as precedence constraints among tasks and side constraints. A motivation for addressing this problem comes from open-pit mining industry, where the PCPSP seeks to maximize the net present value of an ore deposit by selecting the blocks (tasks) to extract, their extraction periods and their processing options, while satisfying constraints as precedences among blocks, limited availability of operational resources and maximum and/or minimum allowable concentrations of ore-grade or pollutants. Since real-world models have millions of blocks and constraints, the monolithic problem is computationally intractable. This article presents a hybrid heuristic algorithm that combines a rolling horizon decomposition with a block preselection procedure, allowing near-optimal solutions to be quickly determined. The proposed heuristic was tested on all the PCPSP instances of the MineLib library and has shown a significant improvement over the previous reported results. Moreover, a good feasible solution has been found for the instance W23, for which no solution has been previously reported.

Suggested Citation

  • Jélvez, Enrique & Morales, Nelson & Nancel-Penard, Pierre & Cornillier, Fabien, 2020. "A new hybrid heuristic algorithm for the Precedence Constrained Production Scheduling Problem: A mining application," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jomega:v:94:y:2020:i:c:s0305048318301750
    DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2019.03.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305048318301750
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.omega.2019.03.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. W. Lambert & A. Newman, 2014. "Tailored Lagrangian Relaxation for the open pit block sequencing problem," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 222(1), pages 419-438, November.
    2. Jélvez, Enrique & Morales, Nelson & Nancel-Penard, Pierre & Peypouquet, Juan & Reyes, Patricio, 2016. "Aggregation heuristic for the open-pit block scheduling problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 1169-1177.
    3. Ramazan, Salih, 2007. "The new Fundamental Tree Algorithm for production scheduling of open pit mines," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(2), pages 1153-1166, March.
    4. Samavati, Mehran & Essam, Daryl & Nehring, Micah & Sarker, Ruhul, 2018. "A new methodology for the open-pit mine production scheduling problem," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 169-182.
    5. Samavati, Mehran & Essam, Daryl & Nehring, Micah & Sarker, Ruhul, 2017. "A methodology for the large-scale multi-period precedence-constrained knapsack problem: an application in the mining industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 12-20.
    6. Underwood, Robert & Tolwinski, Boleslaw, 1998. "A mathematical programming viewpoint for solving the ultimate pit problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 96-107, May.
    7. Daniel Espinoza & Marcos Goycoolea & Eduardo Moreno & Alexandra Newman, 2013. "MineLib: a library of open pit mining problems," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 206(1), pages 93-114, July.
    8. Shishvan, Masoud Soleymani & Sattarvand, Javad, 2015. "Long term production planning of open pit mines by ant colony optimization," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(3), pages 825-836.
    9. Amina Lamghari & Roussos Dimitrakopoulos & Jacques Ferland, 2015. "A hybrid method based on linear programming and variable neighborhood descent for scheduling production in open-pit mines," Journal of Global Optimization, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 555-582, November.
    10. Jean-Claude Picard, 1976. "Maximal Closure of a Graph and Applications to Combinatorial Problems," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(11), pages 1268-1272, July.
    11. Renaud Chicoisne & Daniel Espinoza & Marcos Goycoolea & Eduardo Moreno & Enrique Rubio, 2012. "A New Algorithm for the Open-Pit Mine Production Scheduling Problem," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(3), pages 517-528, June.
    12. Dorit S. Hochbaum, 2008. "The Pseudoflow Algorithm: A New Algorithm for the Maximum-Flow Problem," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 56(4), pages 992-1009, August.
    13. Oscar H. Ibarra & Chul E. Kim, 1978. "Approximation Algorithms for Certain Scheduling Problems," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 197-204, August.
    14. W. Brian Lambert & Andrea Brickey & Alexandra M. Newman & Kelly Eurek, 2014. "Open-Pit Block-Sequencing Formulations: A Tutorial," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 44(2), pages 127-142, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. El Mehdi, Er Raqabi & Ilyas, Himmich & Nizar, El Hachemi & Issmaïl, El Hallaoui & François, Soumis, 2023. "Incremental LNS framework for integrated production, inventory, and vessel scheduling: Application to a global supply chain," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Zhang, Huimin & Li, Shukai & Wang, Yihui & Yang, Lixing & Gao, Ziyou, 2021. "Collaborative real-time optimization strategy for train rescheduling and track emergency maintenance of high-speed railway: A Lagrangian relaxation-based decomposition algorithm," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Alipour, Aref & Khodaiari, Ali Asghar & Jafari, Ahmad & Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Reza, 2022. "An integrated approach to open-pit mines production scheduling," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    4. Nancel-Penard, Pierre & Morales, Nelson & Cornillier, Fabien, 2022. "A recursive time aggregation-disaggregation heuristic for the multidimensional and multiperiod precedence-constrained knapsack problem: An application to the open-pit mine block sequencing problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 303(3), pages 1088-1099.
    5. Zeng, Lanyan & Liu, Shi Qiang & Kozan, Erhan & Corry, Paul & Masoud, Mahmoud, 2021. "A comprehensive interdisciplinary review of mine supply chain management," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    6. Cinna Seifi & Marco Schulze & Jürgen Zimmermann, 2021. "Solution procedures for block selection and sequencing in flat-bedded potash underground mines," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 43(2), pages 409-440, June.
    7. Saavedra, Francisco & Morales, Nelson & Nelis, Gonzalo & Gómez, René, 2023. "A fast method to find smooth economic envelopes for block and panel caving mines," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nancel-Penard, Pierre & Morales, Nelson & Cornillier, Fabien, 2022. "A recursive time aggregation-disaggregation heuristic for the multidimensional and multiperiod precedence-constrained knapsack problem: An application to the open-pit mine block sequencing problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 303(3), pages 1088-1099.
    2. Samavati, Mehran & Essam, Daryl & Nehring, Micah & Sarker, Ruhul, 2017. "A methodology for the large-scale multi-period precedence-constrained knapsack problem: an application in the mining industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 12-20.
    3. Samavati, Mehran & Essam, Daryl & Nehring, Micah & Sarker, Ruhul, 2017. "A local branching heuristic for the open pit mine production scheduling problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 257(1), pages 261-271.
    4. Zeng, Lanyan & Liu, Shi Qiang & Kozan, Erhan & Corry, Paul & Masoud, Mahmoud, 2021. "A comprehensive interdisciplinary review of mine supply chain management," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Amin Mousavi & Erhan Kozan & Shi Qiang Liu, 2016. "Comparative analysis of three metaheuristics for short-term open pit block sequencing," Journal of Heuristics, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 301-329, June.
    6. Moreno, Eduardo & Rezakhah, Mojtaba & Newman, Alexandra & Ferreira, Felipe, 2017. "Linear models for stockpiling in open-pit mine production scheduling problems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(1), pages 212-221.
    7. Amina Lamghari & Roussos Dimitrakopoulos & Jacques Ferland, 2015. "A hybrid method based on linear programming and variable neighborhood descent for scheduling production in open-pit mines," Journal of Global Optimization, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 555-582, November.
    8. King, Barry & Goycoolea, Marcos & Newman, A., 2017. "Optimizing the open pit-to-underground mining transition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 257(1), pages 297-309.
    9. Jélvez, Enrique & Morales, Nelson & Nancel-Penard, Pierre & Peypouquet, Juan & Reyes, Patricio, 2016. "Aggregation heuristic for the open-pit block scheduling problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 1169-1177.
    10. Gonzalo Muñoz & Daniel Espinoza & Marcos Goycoolea & Eduardo Moreno & Maurice Queyranne & Orlando Rivera Letelier, 2018. "A study of the Bienstock–Zuckerberg algorithm: applications in mining and resource constrained project scheduling," Computational Optimization and Applications, Springer, vol. 69(2), pages 501-534, March.
    11. Samavati, Mehran & Essam, Daryl & Nehring, Micah & Sarker, Ruhul, 2018. "A new methodology for the open-pit mine production scheduling problem," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 169-182.
    12. Thomas W. M. Vossen & R. Kevin Wood & Alexandra M. Newman, 2016. "Hierarchical Benders Decomposition for Open-Pit Mine Block Sequencing," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 64(4), pages 771-793, August.
    13. Alipour, Aref & Khodaiari, Ali Asghar & Jafari, Ahmad & Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Reza, 2022. "An integrated approach to open-pit mines production scheduling," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    14. Cinna Seifi & Marco Schulze & Jürgen Zimmermann, 2021. "Solution procedures for block selection and sequencing in flat-bedded potash underground mines," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 43(2), pages 409-440, June.
    15. Paithankar, Amol & Chatterjee, Snehamoy & Goodfellow, Ryan & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali, 2020. "Simultaneous stochastic optimization of production sequence and dynamic cut-off grades in an open pit mining operation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    16. Paithankar, Amol & Chatterjee, Snehamoy & Goodfellow, Ryan, 2021. "Open-pit mining complex optimization under uncertainty with integrated cut-off grade based destination policies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Rafael Epstein & Marcel Goic & Andrés Weintraub & Jaime Catalán & Pablo Santibáñez & Rodolfo Urrutia & Raúl Cancino & Sergio Gaete & Augusto Aguayo & Felipe Caro, 2012. "Optimizing Long-Term Production Plans in Underground and Open-Pit Copper Mines," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(1), pages 4-17, February.
    18. Chatterjee, Snehamoy & Sethi, Manas Ranjan & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali, 2016. "Production phase and ultimate pit limit design under commodity price uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 248(2), pages 658-667.
    19. Tabesh, Mohammad & Moradi Afrapoli, Ali & Askari-Nasab, Hooman, 2023. "A two-stage simultaneous optimization of NPV and throughput in production planning of open pit mines," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    20. O’Sullivan, Dónal & Newman, Alexandra, 2015. "Optimization-based heuristics for underground mine scheduling," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 241(1), pages 248-259.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jomega:v:94:y:2020:i:c:s0305048318301750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/375/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.