Two-machine flow-shop scheduling with equal processing time on the second machine for minimizing total weighted completion time

We consider the classical two-machine flow-shop scheduling for minimizing the total weighted completion time. For this problem, the computational complexity of a version in which the jobs have a common processing time on the second machine, has not been addressed. We show that the problem is unary NP-hard, answering an open problem posed in Zhu et al. (2016). Then we present an approximation algorithm for the problem with worst-case performance ratio at most 2.     

Approximation algorithms for two-machine flow shop scheduling with batch setup times

In many practical situations, batching of similar jobs to avoid setups is performed while constructing a schedule. This paper addresses the problem of non-preemptively scheduling independent jobs in a two-machine flow shop with the objective of minimizing the makespan. Jobs are grouped into batches. A sequence independent batch setup time on each machine is required before the first job is processed, and when a machine switches from processing a job in some batch to a job of another batch. Besides its practical interest, this problem is a direct generalization of the classical two-machine flow shop problem with no grouping of jobs, which can be solved optimally by Johnson's well-known algorithm. The problem under investigation is known to be NP-hard. We propose two O(n logn) time heuristic algorithms. The first heuristic, which creates a schedule with minimum total setup time by forcing all jobs in the same batch to be sequenced in adjacent positions, has a worst-case performance ratio of 3/2. By allowing each batch to be split into at most two sub-batches, a second heuristic is developed which has an improved worst-case performance ratio of 4/3. © 1998 The Mathematical Programming Society, Inc. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.     

Two-stage open shop scheduling with a bottleneck machine

It is known that for the open shop scheduling problem to minimize the makespan there exists no polynomial-time heuristic algorithm that guarantees a worst-case performance ratio better than 5/4, unless P≠NP. However, this result holds only if the instance of the problem contains jobs consisting of at least three operations. This paper considers the open shop scheduling problem, provided that each job consists of at most two operations, one of which is to be processed on one of the m⩾2 machines, while the other operation must be performed on the bottleneck machine, the same for all jobs. For this NP-hard problem we present a heuristic algorithm and show that its worst-case performance ratio is 5/4.     

Scheduling parallel machines with inclusive processing set restrictions and job release times

We consider the problem of scheduling a set of jobs with different release times on parallel machines so as to minimize the makespan of the schedule. The machines have the same processing speed, but each job is compatible with only a subset of those machines. The machines can be linearly ordered such that a higher-indexed machine can process all those jobs that a lower-indexed machine can process. We present an efficient algorithm for this problem with a worst-case performance ratio of 2. We also develop a polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS) for the problem, as well as a fully polynomial time approximation scheme (FPTAS) for the case in which the number of machines is fixed.     

On the machine scheduling problem with job delivery coordination

This paper examines two scheduling problems with job delivery coordination, in which each job demands different amount of storage space during transportation. For the first problem, in which jobs are processed on a single machine and delivered by one vehicle to a customer, we present a best possible approximation algorithm with a worst-case ratio arbitrarily close to 3/2. For the second problem, which differs from the first problem in that jobs are processed by two parallel machines, we give an improved algorithm with a worst-case ratio 5/3.     

An approximation algorithm for the m-machine permutation flow shop scheduling problem with controllable processing times

The paper deals with the m-machine permutation flow shop scheduling problem in which job processing times, along with a processing order, are decision variables. It is assumed that the cost of processing a job on each machine is a linear function of its processing time and the overall schedule cost to be minimized is the total processing cost plus maximum completion time cost. A algorithm for the problem with m = 2 is provided; the best approximation algorithm until now has a worst-case performance ratio equal to . An extension to the m-machine (m ≥2) permutation flow shop problem yields an approximation algorithm with a worst-case bound equal to

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, where is the worst-case performance ratio of a procedure used, in the proposed algorithm, for solving the (pure) sequencing problem. Moreover, examples which achieve this bound for = 1 are also presented.     

Single machine scheduling with semi-resumable machine availability constraints

This paper considers the semi-resumable model of single machine scheduling with a non-availability period. The machine is not available for processing during a given time interval. A job cannot be completed before the non-availability period will have to partially restart after the machine has become available again. For the problem with objective of minimizing makespan, the tight worst-case ratio of algorithm LPT is given, and an FPTAS is also proposed. For the problem with objective of minimizing total weighted completion time, an approximation algorithm with worst-case ratio smaller than 2 is presented. Two special cases of the latter problem are also considered, and improved algorithms are given.     

目标是最小化最大完工时间带柔性维修时间限制的两台机器排序问题的一个近似算法

本文研究了两台机器带柔性维修时间限制的排序问题,其中第一台机器在固定的时间内必须进行维修,而第二台机器一直可用,目标是最小化所有工件的最大完工时间。工件在加工过程中不允许中断。对于该问题,我们给出了一个性能比为的近似算法,并证明了该性能比是紧的。     

A 3/2 Algorithm for Two-Machine Open Shop with Route-Dependent Processing Times

This paper considers the problem of minimizing the schedule length of a two-machine shop in which not only can a job be assigned any of the two possible routes, but also the processing times depend on the chosen route. This problem is known to be NP-hard. We describe a simple approximation algorithm that guarantees a worst-case performance ratio of 2. We also present some modifications to this algorithm that improve its performance and guarantee a worst-case performance ratio of 3/2.     

Scheduling jobs on a single machine with release dates, delivery times and controllable processing times: worst-case analysis

The paper deals with the problem of scheduling jobs on a single machine, in which each job has a release date, a delivery time and a controllable processing time, having its own associated linearly varying cost. An approximation algorithm for minimizing the overall schedule cost is provided which has the performance guarantee of , where is the worst-case performance bound of a procedure used in the proposed algorithm for solving the pure sequencing problem. The best approximation procedure known has .     

工件带到达时间的两阶段柔性流水作业的近似算法

研究了工件带到时间的两阶段柔性流水作业的排序问题,基于求解流水作业和平行机问题的算法思想,提出两个相应的近似算法H(R)和H(MR(?)),证明了这两个算法的最坏情况性能比分别为3-1/m和2/5-1/m,讨论了界的紧性,并利用数值模拟以分析算法与最优值的近似性能比.     

带机器准备时间的平行机ordinal排序及近似算法

本文研究带机器准备时间的m台平行机ordinal在线排序问题。讨论了在极小化最大机器完工时间和极小化最大工件完工时间两种目标下的不同下界和相应的在线近似算法。对第一个目标，我们得到了3/2的下界和最坏情况界为2-1/m的近似算法。对第二个目标，我们得到了最坏情况为m的最好近似算法。我们还对一些特殊情况进行了分析。     

带有运输且加工具有灵活性的无等待流水作业排序问题

研究一类带有运输且加工具有灵活性的两阶段无等待流水作业排序问题, 其中每阶段只有一台机器, 每个工件有两道工序需要依次在两台机器上加工, 工件在两台机器上的加工及两道工序之间不允许等待. 给出两种近似算法, 并分别分析其最坏情况界. 第一种算法是排列排序, 证明了最坏情况界不超过5/2; 第二种算法将工件按照两道工序加工时间之和的递增顺序排序, 证明其最坏情况界不超过2. 最后, 通过数值模拟比较算法的性能. 对问题中各参数取不同值的情况, 分别生成若干个实例, 用算法得到的解与最优解的下界作比值, 通过分析这些比值的最大值、最小值和平均值来比较上述两个算法的性能.     

An approximation algorithm for parallel machine scheduling with a common server

In this paper we study the scheduling of a given set of jobs on several identical parallel machines tended by a common server. Each job must be processed on one of the machines. Prior to processing, the server has to set up the relevant machine. The objective is to schedule the jobs so as to minimize the total weighted job completion times. We provide an approximation algorithm to tackle this intractable problem and analyze the worst-case performance of the algorithm for the general, as well as a special, case of the problem.     

加工时间和尺寸成正比单机排序和工件运输的最小化最大完工时间问题

在单机排序和工件运输的最小化最大完工时间问题中,工件首先在一台机器上加工,然后被一辆有容量限制的汽车运送到一个顾客．当工件的加工时间和尺寸无关时, Chang和Lee已经证明该问题是强NP困难的．他们也给出了一个启发式算法,它的最差执行比为5／3,并且这个界是紧的．本文考虑工件的加工时间和尺寸成正比的情形,证明了Chang和Lee的算法有更好的最差执行比53／35,并提供了一个新的启发式算法,它的最差执行比是3／2,并且这个界是最好的．     

Scheduling with job delivery coordination on single machine

This paper investigates a single machine scheduling problem with job delivery coordination, in which each job demands different amount of storage space during transportation. In this problem, a set of independent jobs from a customer must first be processed on a machine without preemption and then delivered by two homogeneous vehicles to the customer in batches. To minimize the makespan, we develop a best possible polynomial-time heuristic with a worst-case ratio of 2.     

Minimizing maximum completion time in a proportionate flow shop with one machine of different speed

A flow shop with identical machines is called a proportionate flow shop. In this paper, we consider the variant of the n-job, m-machine proportionate flow shop scheduling problem in which only one machine is different and job processing times are inversely proportional to machine speeds. The objective is to minimize maximum completion time. We describe some optimality conditions and show that the problem is NP-complete. We provide two heuristic procedures whose worst-case performance ratio is less than two. Extensive experiments with various sizes are conducted to show the performance of the proposed heuristics.     

Integrated scheduling of production and distribution for manufacturers with parallel batching facilities

We consider a class of integrated scheduling problems for manufacturers. The manufacturer processes job orders and delivers products to the customer. The objective is to minimize the service span, that is, the period lasting from the time when the order is received to the time when all the products have been delivered to the customer. In the production phase, parallel batch-processing facilities are used to process the jobs. Jobs have arbitrary sizes and processing times. Each facility has a fixed capacity and jobs are processed in batches with the restriction that the total size of jobs in a batch does not exceed the facility capacity. When all the jobs in a batch are completed, the batch is completed. In the distribution phase, the manufacturer uses a vehicle with a fixed capacity to deliver products. The transportation time from the manufacturer to the customer is a constant. Completed products can be delivered in one transfer if the total size does not exceed the vehicle capacity. We first consider the problem where jobs have the same size and arbitrary processing times. We propose approximation algorithms for the problem and we show that a worst-case ratio performance guarantee is respectively 2–1/m. Then we consider the problem where jobs have the same processing time and arbitrary sizes. An approximation algorithm is proposed with an absolute worst-case ratio of 13/7 and an asymptotic worst-case ratio of 11/9. Both the proposed algorithms can be executed in polynomial time.     

Analysis of a linear programming heuristic for scheduling unrelated parallel machines

Each of n jobs is to be processed without interruption on one of m unrelated parallel machines. The objectives is to minimize the maximum completion time. A heuristic method is presented, the first stage of which uses linear programming to form a partial schedule leaving at most m?1 jobs unscheduled: the second stage schedules these m?1 jobs using an enumerative method. For m≥3, it is shown that the heuristic has a (best possible) worst-case performance ratio of 2 and has a computational requirement which is polynomial in n although it is exponential in m. For m = 2, it is shown that the heuristic has a (best possible) worst-case performance ratio of $\text{1 +}\text{5}\text{)}\text{2}$ and requires linear time. A modified version of the heuristic is presented for m = 2 which is shown to have a (best possible) worst-case performance ratio of $\text{3}\text{2}$ while still requiring linear time.     

Fast algorithms for fragmentable items bin packing

Bin packing with fragmentable items is a variant of the classic bin packing problem where items may be cut into smaller fragments. The objective is to minimize the number of item fragments, or equivalently, to minimize the number of cuts, for a given number of bins. Models based on packing fragmentable items are useful for representing finite shared resources. In this article, we present improvements to approximation and metaheuristic algorithms to obtain an optimality-preserving optimization algorithm with polynomial complexity, worst-case performance guarantees and parametrizable running time. We also present a new family of fast lower bounds and prove their worst-case performance ratios. We evaluate the performance and quality of the algorithm and the best lower bound through a series of computational experiments on representative problem instances. For the studied problem sets, one consisting of 180 problems with up to 20 items and another consisting of 450 problems with up to 1024 items, the lower bound performs no worse than 5 / 6. For the first problem set, the algorithm found an optimal solution in 92 % of all 1800 runs. For the second problem set, the algorithm found an optimal solution in 99 % of all 4500 runs. No run lasted longer than 220 ms.