This workshop equips production planners and operations research teams with a practical assessment of quantum and quantum-inspired optimisation for manufacturing scheduling, including where current tools outperform classical solvers and where they do not.
For production planners, operations research teams, and manufacturing technology leads. Covers quantum and quantum-inspired optimisation for job-shop scheduling, capacity planning, and multi-site production coordination. Includes QUBO formulations for manufacturing constraints, benchmark-specific performance comparisons against classical MILP solvers, and an independent vendor assessment.
Production scheduling is a combinatorial optimisation problem. Classical mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) solvers like CPLEX and Gurobi handle moderate instances well, but computational cost grows exponentially as you add machines, jobs, setup times, precedence constraints, and multi-site coupling. For a 200-job, 50-machine problem with realistic constraints, CPLEX can take hours to find near-optimal solutions. Quantum optimisation algorithms encode these problems as QUBO (Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimisation) and solve them using QAOA on gate-based hardware or quantum annealing on D-Wave systems. Published benchmarks from BMW, Airbus, and academic groups show that for certain scheduling structures (high constraint density, multiple objectives), quantum and quantum-inspired solvers find competitive solutions faster than classical approaches at problem sizes of 50 to 200 jobs. The question for manufacturing operations is whether this applies to their specific scheduling topology. This workshop maps that boundary through formulation exercises and performance comparisons relevant to delegates' own production environments.
Full-day session structure with scheduled breaks. Content is configurable to your production topology, scheduling constraints, and existing optimisation infrastructure.
| # | Session | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Classical Scheduling and Its Computational LimitsWhy mixed-integer linear programming breaks at manufacturing scale | |
| 2 | Quantum Optimisation Algorithms for Production SchedulingQAOA, VQE, and quantum annealing for job-shop and flow-shop problems |
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| Break, after 50 min | ||
| 3 | QUBO Formulations for Manufacturing OperationsTranslating production constraints into quantum-native representations |
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| 4 | Interactive Demonstration: Production Scheduling PipelineFull-day format only |
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| Break, after 60 min | ||
| 5 | NISQ Hardware Limits and Honest Performance AssessmentWhat works now and what requires fault tolerance |
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| 6 | Quantum-Inspired Alternatives and Vendor LandscapeWhat is available today without quantum hardware |
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| 7 | Q&A and Pilot Planning | |
Workshops are designed and delivered by QSECDEF in collaboration with sector specialists. All facilitators have direct experience in both quantum technologies and manufacturing systems.
Workshop design and delivery
QSECDEF brings world-leading expertise in post-quantum cryptography, quantum computing strategy, and defence-grade security assessment. Our advisory membership spans 600+ organisations and 1,200+ professionals working at the intersection of quantum technologies and critical infrastructure security.
Domain expertise and operational validation
Manufacturing workshops are co-delivered with sector specialists who bring direct operational experience in manufacturing organisations. This ensures workshop content is grounded in regulatory, operational, and technical realities specific to the sector.
Sessions are configured around your production topology, scheduling constraints, machine types, and existing optimisation infrastructure. Get in touch to discuss requirements and schedule a date.
Contact UsQuantum technologies are evolving quickly and new developments emerge regularly. This page was last updated on 15/03/2026. For the most current information about course content and suitability for your organisation, we recommend contacting us directly.
