New heuristic method for the optimization of product mix based on theory of constraints and knapsack problem

Abstract

The definition of the product mix provides the allocation of the productive resources in the manufacture process and the optimization of productive system. However, the definition of the product mix is a problem of the NP-complete, in other words, of difficult solution. Taking this into account, with the aid of the Theory of Constraints - TOC, some constructive heuristics have been presented to help to solve this problem. Thus, the objective in this paper is to propose a new heuristics to provide better solutions when compared with the main heuristics presented in the literature, TOC-h of Fredendall and Lea. To accomplish this comparison, simulations were accomplished with the objective of identifying the production mix with the best throughput, considering CPU time and the characteristics of the productive ambient. The results show that the heuristics proposal was more satisfactory when compared to TOC-h and it shows good solution when compared with the optimum solution. This fact evidence the importance of the heuristics proposal in the definition of product mix.