Interaction in hybrid intelligent scheduling

Hybrid human-computer intelligent systems for scheduling have evolved in response to the inability of algorithmic methods to handle the complexity of production in real manufacturing environments. They combine the abilities of humans to recognize patterns in data and to make inferences with computer methods for decision making. This article discusses: (1) the factors influencing scheduling decisions in small-batch manufacture and the role of humans in the scheduling process, (2) the position of the human scheduler in hybrid intelligent decision-making processes, and (3) the inadequacy of using Gantt charts as the standard interface for human-computer interaction in decision making. The paper proposes, for humans to be active partners in decision making, the primary interfaces should display detailed characteristics of jobs in a way that reveals patterns in the data and helps inferential processing.