A Novel Task Package Partitioning Method for Shipbuilding Considering Four-Dimensional Features of Intermediate Products

Task package partitioning is a key step in shipbuilding. Efficient and balanced task package partitioning is a top priority for modern shipyards. The partitioning scheme is one of the crucial issues in shipbuilding. However, the multidimensional features of intermediate products—the intrinsic basis on which task units should be grouped into packages—are often overlooked in existing methods, resulting in low intra-package cohesion, high inter-package coupling, and imbalanced load distribution. To address this problem, a multi-objective optimization model is established to optimize task package partitioning. First, a three-objective model is constructed to maximize cohesion, minimize coupling, and balance the workload. Second, phase-homogeneity hard constraints and man-hour bounds are introduced to ensure engineering feasibility. Finally, a hybrid Genetic Algorithm - Branch and Bound solution framework is designed, in which global search is performed by GA and local refinement is handled by B&B. A practical case of an Hull Construction Project of 11000 DWT Bulk Carrier is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Satisfactory results are achieved with effective convergence, as cohesion is improved, coupling is reduced, and workload distribution is balanced, which provides robust support for engineering decision-making.