Balancing Workloads and Minimizing Set-up Costs in the Parallel Processing Shop

This paper presents an optimal scheduling algorithm for minimizing set-up costs in the parallel processing shop while meeting workload balancing restrictions.There are M independent batch type jobs which have sequence dependent set-up costs and N parallel processing machines. Each of the M jobs must be processed on exactly one of the N available machines. It is desirable to minimize total changeover costs with the restriction that each machine workload assignment T _n be within P units of the average machine assignment. The paper describes a static problem in which all jobs are available at time zero. The sequence dependent change over costs are identical for each machine. An extension of the algorithm handles nonidentical processor problems.A combinatorial programming approach to the problem is used. For the special case of identical processors, the problem can be treated as a multi-salesman travelling salesman problem. A general branch and bound algorithm and numerical results are given.     

Flowshop scheduling problem to minimize total completion time with random and bounded processing times

The flowshop scheduling problems with n jobs processed on two or three machines, and with two jobs processed on k machines are addressed where jobs have random and bounded processing times. The probability distributions of random processing times are unknown, and only the lower and upper bounds of processing times are given before scheduling. In such cases, there may not exist a unique schedule that remains optimal for all feasible realizations of the processing times, and therefore, a set of schedules has to be considered which dominates all other schedules for the given criterion. We obtain sufficient conditions when transposition of two jobs minimizes total completion time for the cases of two and three machines. The geometrical approach is utilized for flowshop problem with two jobs and k machines.     

The Systems Approach to Hospitals

By exploiting the relationship between scheduling and sorting, this paper describes a functional heuristic algorithm for seeking a quick and approximate solution to the n-job, M-machine flowshop scheduling problem under the assumption that all jobs are processed on all machines in the same order and no passing of jobs is permitted. The proposed functional heuristic algorithm can be executed by hand for reasonably large size problems and yields solutions which are closer to optimal solutions than those obtained by Palmer's slope index algorithm.     

A note on scheduling jobs with equal processing times and inclusive processing set restrictions

We consider the problem of scheduling n jobs on m parallel machines with inclusive processing set restrictions. Each job has a given release date, and all jobs have equal processing times. The objective is to minimize the makespan of the schedule. Li and Li (2015) have developed an O(n²+mn log?n) time algorithm for this problem. In this note, we present a modified algorithm with an improved time complexity of O(min{m, log?n} ? n log?n).     

A graph-theoretic approach to interval scheduling on dedicated unrelated parallel machines

We study the problem of scheduling n non-preemptive jobs on m unrelated parallel machines. Each machine can process a specified subset of the jobs. If a job is assigned to a machine, then it occupies a specified time interval on the machine. Each assignment of a job to a machine yields a value. The objective is to find a subset of the jobs and their feasible assignments to the machines such that the total value is maximized. The problem is NP-hard in the strong sense. We reduce the problem to finding a maximum weight clique in a graph and survey available solution methods. Furthermore, based on the peculiar properties of graphs, we propose an exact solution algorithm and five heuristics. We conduct computer experiments to assess the performance of our and other existing heuristics. The computational results show that our heuristics outperform the existing heuristics.     

Scheduling jobs with release dates,equal processing times,and inclusive processing set restrictions

We consider the problem of scheduling a given set of n jobs with equal processing times on m parallel machines so as to minimize the makespan. Each job has a given release date and is compatible to only a subset of the machines. The machines are ordered and indexed in such a way that a higher-indexed machine can process all the jobs that a lower-indexed machine can process. We present a solution procedure to solve this problem in O(n²+mnlogn) time. We also extend our results to the tree-hierarchical processing sets case and the uniform machine case.     

Scheduling an unbounded batching machine with family jobs and setup times

We consider the problem of scheduling n jobs on an unbounded batching machine that can process any number of jobs belonging to the same family simultaneously in the same batch. All jobs in the same batch complete at the same time. Jobs belonging to different families cannot be processed in the same batch, and setup times are required to switch between batches that process jobs from different families. For a fixed number of families m, we present a generic forward dynamic programming algorithm that solves the problem of minimizing an arbitrary regular cost function in pseudopolynomial time. We also present a polynomial-time backward dynamic programming algorithm with time complexity O (mn(n/m+1) ^m ) for minimizing any additive regular minsum objective function and any incremental regular minmax objective function. The effectiveness of our dynamic programming algorithm is shown by computational experiments based on the scheduling of the heat-treating process in a steel manufacturing plant.     

Single Stage Minimum Absolute Lateness Problem with a Common Due Date on Non-Identical Machines

In this paper we consider scheduling n single operation jobs with a common due date on m non-identical machines (in parallel) so as to minimize the sum of the absolute lateness. We reduce the problem to a transportation problem that can be solved by a polynomial time algorithm. Furthermore, we consider the problem in the case of identical machines and we give a heuristic algorithm to minimize makespan among all schedules that minimize the absolute lateness problem.     

Parallel-machine scheduling with release dates and rejection

In this paper, we consider the parallel-machine scheduling problem with release dates and rejection. A job is either rejected, in which case a rejection penalty has to be paid, or accepted and processed on one of the m identical parallel machines. The objective is to minimize the sum of the makespan of the accepted jobs and the total rejection penalty of the rejected jobs. When m is a fixed constant, we provide a pseudo-polynomial-time algorithm and a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme for the problem. When m is arbitrary, we present a 2-approximation algorithm for the problem.     

A Heuristic Decomposition Algorithm for Scheduling Problems on Mixed Graphs

We consider a scheduling problem where a set of n jobs has to be processed on a set of m machines and arbitrary precedence constraints between operations are given. Moreover, for any two operations i and j values a _ij >0 and a _ji >0 may be given where a _ij is the minimal difference between the starting times of operations i and j when operation i is processed first. Often, the objective is to minimize the makespan but we consider also arbitrary regular criteria. Even the special cases of the classical job shop problem J//C_max belong to the set of NP-hard problems. Therefore, approximation or heuristic algorithms are necessary to handle large-dimension problems. Based on the mixed graph model we give a heuristic decomposition algorithm for such a problem, i.e. the initial problem is partitioned into subproblems that can be solved exactly or approximately with a small error bound. These subproblems are obtained by a relaxation of a subset of the set of undirected edges of the mixed graph. The subproblems are successively solved and a proportion of the results obtained for one subproblem is kept for further subproblem definitions. Numerical results of the algorithm presented here are given.     

Two-stage flexible flow shop scheduling subject to fixed job sequences

This paper investigates the scheduling problem in a two-stage flexible flow shop, which consists of m stage-1 parallel dedicated machines and a stage-2 bottleneck machine, subject to the condition that n _l jobs per type l∈{1, …, m} are processed in a fixed sequence. Four regular performance metrics, including the total completion time, the maximum lateness, the total tardiness, and the number of tardy jobs, are considered. For each considered objective function, we aim to determine an optimal interleaving processing sequence of all jobs coupled with their starting times on the stage-2 bottleneck machine. The problem under study is proved to be strongly NP-hard. An O(m²Π_l=1 ^m n _l ²) dynamic programming algorithm coupled with numerical experiments is presented.     

Lagrangian relaxation algorithms for real-time hybrid flowshop scheduling with finite intermediate buffers

We investigate the problem of scheduling N jobs on parallel identical machines in J successive stages with finite buffer capacities between consecutive stages in a real-time environment. The objective is to find a schedule that minimizes the sum of weighted completion time of jobs. This problem has proven strongly NP-hard. In this paper, the scheduling problem is formulated as an integer programming model considering buffers as machines with zero processing time. Lagrangian relaxation algorithms are developed combined with a speed-up dynamic programming approach. The complication and time consumption of solving all the subproblems at each iteration in subgradient optimization motivate the development of the surrogate subgradient method, where only one subproblem is minimized at each iteration and an adaptive multiplier update scheme of Lagrangian multipliers is designed. Computational experiments with up to 100 jobs show that the designed surrogate subgradient algorithm provides a better performance as compared to the subgradient algorithm.     

Due-date assignment and parallel-machine scheduling with deteriorating jobs

In this paper we study the problem of scheduling n deteriorating jobs on m identical parallel machines. Each job's processing time is a nondecreasing function of its start time. The problem is to determine an optimal combination of the due-date and schedule so as to minimize the sum of the due-date, earliness and tardiness penalties. We show that this problem is NP-hard, and we present a heuristic algorithm to find near-optimal solutions for the problem. When the due-date penalty is 0, we present a polynomial time algorithm to solve it.     

Two-stage assembly-type flowshop batch scheduling problem subject to a fixed job sequence

This paper discusses a two-stage assembly-type flowshop scheduling problem with batching considerations subject to a fixed job sequence. The two-stage assembly flowshop consists of m stage-1 parallel dedicated machines and a stage-2 assembly machine which processes the jobs in batches. Four regular performance metrics, namely, the total completion time, maximum lateness, total tardiness, and number of tardy jobs, are considered. The goal is to obtain an optimal batching decision for the predetermined job sequence at stage 2. This study presents a two-phase algorithm, which is developed by coupling a problem-transformation procedure with a dynamic program. The running time of the proposed algorithm is O(mn+n⁵), where n is the number of jobs.     

Common due window size and location determination in a single machine scheduling problem

We consider a single machine static and deterministic scheduling problem in which jobs have a common due window. Jobs completed within the window incur no penalties, other jobs incur either earliness or tardiness penalties. The objective is to find the optimal size and location of the window as well as an optimal sequence to minimise a cost function based on earliness, tardiness, window size, and window location. We propose an O(n log n) algorithm to solve the problem.     

A note on parallel-machine due-window assignment

We consider a due-window assignment problem on identical parallel machines, where the jobs have equal processing times and job-dependent earliness-tardiness costs. We would like to determine a ‘due window’ during which the jobs can be completed at no cost and to obtain a job schedule in which the jobs are penalized if they finish before or after the due window. The objective is to minimize the total earliness and tardiness job penalty, plus the cost associated with the size of the due window. We present an algorithm that can solve this problem in O(n³) time, which is an improvement of the O(n⁴) solution procedure developed by Mosheiov and Sarig.     

A due-window assignment problem with position-dependent processing times

We extend a classical single-machine due-window assignment problem to the case of position-dependent processing times. In addition to the standard job scheduling decisions, one has to assign a time interval (due-window), such that jobs completed within this interval are assumed to be on time and not penalized. The cost components are: total earliness, total tardiness and due-window location and size. We introduce an O(n³) solution algorithm, where n is the number of jobs. We also investigate several special cases, and examine numerically the sensitivity of the solution (schedule and due-window) to the different cost parameters.     

Specially Structured Precedence Constraints in Three-Dimensional Bottleneck Assignment Problems

A three-dimensional, time-minimizing (bottleneck) assignment problem consists of assigning n jobs to n workers to be performed on n machines under different forms of feasibility conditions so that the different functions of the individual times taken by a worker to finish a job on a given machine are minimized. The usual assumption made in such a problem is that all the jobs can be commenced simultaneously. In this paper, two specially structured precedence constraints on jobs are considered, which necessitate modifications in this assumption. Further, the main purpose here is to develop branch-and-bound-type algorithms for solving the corresponding problems and to illustrate them by a numerical example.     

Minimizing the sum of maximum earliness and maximum tardiness in the single-machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup time

This paper considers the problem of scheduling a given number of jobs on a single machine to minimize the sum of maximum earliness and maximum tardiness when sequence-dependent setup times exist (1∣ST _sd ∣ET_max). In this paper, an optimal branch-and-bound algorithm is developed that involves the implementation of lower and upper bounding procedures as well as three dominance rules. For solving problems containing large numbers of jobs, a polynomial time-bounded heuristic algorithm is also proposed. Computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the bounding and dominance rules in achieving optimal solutions in more than 97% of the instances.     

Due-date assignment and single machine scheduling with deteriorating jobs

We study a scheduling problem with deteriorating jobs, that is, jobs whose processing times are an increasing function of their start times. We consider the case of a single machine and linear job-independent deterioration. The problem is to determine an optimal combination of the due-date and schedule so as to minimize the sum of due-date, earliness and tardiness penalties. We give an O(n log n) time algorithm to solve this problem.