Using tabu search to solve the common due date early/tardy machine scheduling problem

This article uses tabu search to solve the restricted, common-due-date, early/tardy machine scheduling problem generalised earliness and tardiness penalties. Different forms of the tabu search are tested, including one based on a sequence of jobs solution space and another based on an early/tardy solution space. Results show that a search which uses an early/tardy solution space with a neighbourhood scheme which eliminates infeasible areas of the solution space is the most efficient and effective solution method. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.