Analysis of Constructive Heuristics with Cuckoo Search Algorithm, Firefly Algorithm and Simulated Annealing in Scheduling Problems

Nowadays, decision making is one of the most important and influential aspects of everyday life, and the application of metaheuristics and heuristics facilitates the process. Thus, this paper presents a performance analysis of the combination of constructive heuristics used to generate initial solutions for metaheuristics applied to scheduling problems. Namely, Nawaz, Enscore, and Ham Heuristic (NEH), Palmer Heuristic and Campbell, Dudek, and Smith Heuristic (CDS) with Cuckoo Search, Firefly Algorithm and Simulated Annealing. The aim is to compare the performance of these combinations to analyse the efficiency, effectiveness and robustness of each. All combinations were analysed in an in-depth computational study and then subjected to a statistical study to support an accurate analysis of the results. The results of the analysis show that the Firefly Algorithm associated with NEH, despite having a high runtime, performs better than the other combinations. However, the best effectiveness-efficiency ratio corresponds to SA-Palmer and SA-CDS.