Integration of Sustainable Production Criteria into Production Scheduling: A Systematic Search and a Critical Review

Production scheduling plays a pivotal role in shaping and optimizing production processes to promote sustainability in manufacturing companies. Understanding how current studies consider sustainable production criteria in scheduling objectives can help companies transition from a reactive to a proactive production mode. This paper presents a systematic and critical analysis of 120 articles to examine the extent to which sustainable production criteria have been applied to scheduling problems in manufacturing systems. The analysis categorizes articles based on the type of scheduling problem, problem formulation, resolution method, and sustainability aspects considered, while also tracking the evolution of each sustainability indicator to identify trends. The study reveals the use of diverse sustainability indicators in production scheduling. Indicators such as "Makespan" and "Energy consumption" are prevalent, while social indicators related to employee well-being and safety are still emerging and rarely considered. Notable gaps identified in this review include the absence of real-world applications, unclear criteria for indicator selection, and limited holistic assessments linking production improvements to overall sustainability. The review emphasizes the need for practical and strategic approaches, serving as a guide for the manufacturing sector and informing future research directions.