Development of a regression-based method with case-based tuning to solve the due date assignment problem

Many regression-based methods to date have been proposed for solving the due date assignment (DDA) problem. The advantages of regression-based DDA methods are that they are easy to both put into practice and comprehend. However, relatively little scheduling research has focused on improving the performances of regression-based DDA methods. The performance of a regression-based DDA method could be improved if its values of regression coefficients could provide a more accurate and precise flowtime estimation for each individual job. The difficulty in doing this stems from the dynamic and stochastic nature of production environment that precludes accurate estimation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to suggest a particular methodology for setting the regression coefficients to improve the performance of regression-based DDA method. In particular, the regression-based DDA method achieved by our suggested methodology is able to adjust the values of coefficients dynamically to best predict the job due date based on the condition of the shop at the instant of job entry. To evaluate the robustness of the methodology, an experimental design was used with four regression coefficient determining procedures, two shop models, and three dispatching rules. The results of this investigation clearly indicate that significant improvements in the performance of regression-based DDA method can occur when the suggested methodology is used.