Review on flexible job shop scheduling

Flexible job shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is an NP-hard combinatorial optimisation problem, which has significant applications in the real world. Due to its complexity and significance, lots of attentions have been paid to tackle this problem. In this study, the existing solution methods for the FJSP in recent literature are classified into exact algorithms, heuristics and meta-heuristics, which are reviewed comprehensively. Moreover, the real-world applications of the FJSP are also introduced. Finally, the development trends of the manufacturing industry are analysed, and the future research opportunities of the FJSP are summarised in detail.