A distributed flexible job shop scheduling problem considering worker arrangement using an improved memetic algorithm

•Distributed flexible job shop scheduling problem with worker (DFJSPW) is studied.•An improved memetic algorithm (IMA) is proposed to solve the DFJSPW.•An effective encoding and decoding methods are presented in the IMA.•An adaptive neighbourhood search operator is designed in the IMA.•Elaborate experiments prove the effectiveness of the IMA in solving the DFJSPW.