Title: A new proactive approach to construct a robust baseline schedule considering quality factor

Authors: Behrouz Afshar-Nadjafi

Addresses: Faculty of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, P.O. Box 34185-1416, Qazvin, Iran

Abstract: Extensive research has been devoted to project scheduling problems. However, little attention has been paid to quality factor. The assumption of deterministic parameters especially perfect output of accomplished activities is common in the project planning, whereas activities quality is subject to uncertainty. This may lead to rework for activities, as a consequence, serious revisions of the schedule baseline. In this paper, we consider the robust project scheduling problem to cope with reworks during project execution. A recursive procedure is proposed to solve the problem including time buffers between activities which is a proven method to improve the robustness of a baseline schedule. Also, an extensive simulation-based analysis of the performance of proposed procedure is given. Finally, the results are discussed in detail.

Keywords: project scheduling; quality; recursive procedure; heuristics; rework; time buffers; simulation; proactive approach.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2016.073260

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 2016 Vol.22 No.1, pp.63 - 72

Received: 21 Nov 2013
Accepted: 19 Apr 2014
Published online: 30 Nov 2015 *

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