Scheduling independent jobs on uniform parallel machines to minimize tardiness criteria

The problem of scheduling N jobs on M uniform parallel machines is studied. The objective is to minimize the mean tardiness or the weighted sum of tardiness with weights based on jobs, on periods or both. For the mean tardiness criteria in the preemptive case, this problem is NP-hard but good solutions can be calculated with a transportation problem algorithm. In the nonpreemptive case the problem is therefore NP-hard, except for the cases with equal job processing times or with job due dates equal to job processing times. No dominant heuristic is known in the general nonpreemptive case. The author has developed a heuristic to solve the nonpreemptive scheduling problem with unrelated job processing times. Initially, the algorithm calculates a basic solution. Next, it considers the interchanges of job subsets to equal processing time sum interchanging resources (i.e. a machine for a given period). This paper models the scheduling problem. It presents the heuristic and its result quality, solving 576 problems for 18 problem sizes. An application of school timetable scheduling illustrates the use of this heuristic.     

Single machine scheduling with controllable processing times to minimize total tardiness and earliness

In most deterministic scheduling problems job processing times are considered as invariable and known in advance. Single machine scheduling problem with controllable processing times with no inserted idle time is presented in this study. Job processing times are controllable to some extent that they can be reduced or increased, up to a certain limit, at a cost proportional to the reduction or increase. In this study, our objective is determining a set of compression/expansion of processing times in addition to a sequence of jobs simultaneously, so that total tardiness and earliness are minimized. A mathematical model is proposed firstly and afterward a net benefit compression–net benefit expansion (NBC–NBE) heuristic is presented so as to acquire a set of amounts of compression and expansion of jobs processing times in a given sequence. Three heuristic techniques in small problems and in medium-to-large instances two meta-heuristic approaches, as effective local search methods, as well as these heuristics are employed to solve test examples. The single machine total tardiness problem (SMTTP) is already NP-hard, so the considered problem is NP-hard obviously. The computational experiments demonstrate that our proposed heuristic is efficient approach for such just-in-time (JIT) problem, especially equipped with competent heuristics.     

A hybrid scheduling approach for a two-stage flexible flow shop with batch processing machines

In this paper, we discuss a flexible flow shop scheduling problem with batch processing machines at each stage and with jobs that have unequal ready times. Scheduling problems of this type can be found in semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities (wafer fabs). We are interested in minimizing the total weighted tardiness of the jobs. We present a mixed integer programming formulation. The batch scheduling problem is NP-hard. Therefore, an iterative stage-based decomposition approach is proposed that is hybridized with neighborhood search techniques. The decomposition scheme provides internal due dates and ready times for the jobs on the first and second stage, respectively. Each of the resulting parallel machine batch scheduling problems is solved by variable neighborhood search in each iteration. Based on the schedules of the subproblems, the internal due dates and ready times are updated. We present the results of designed computational experiments that also consider the number of machines assigned to each stage as a design factor. It turns out that the proposed hybrid approach outperforms an iterative decomposition scheme where a fairly simple heuristic based on time window decomposition and the apparent tardiness cost dispatching rule is used to solve the subproblems. Recommendations for the design of the two stages with respect to the number of parallel machines on each stage are given.     

Common due date assignment and scheduling with ready times

We consider the problem of scheduling a set of nonsimultaneously available jobs on one machine. Each job has a ready time only at or after which the job can be processed. All the jobs have a common due date, which needs to be determined. The problem is to determine a due date and a schedule so as to minimize a total penalty depending on the earliness, tardiness and due date. We show that this problem is strongly NP-hard and give an efficient algorithm that finds an optimal due date and schedule when either the job sequence is predetermined or all jobs have the same processing time. We also propose three approximation algorithms for the general and special cases together with their experimental analysis.

Scope and purpose

We consider the single machine due date assignment problem for scheduling jobs which are ready for processing at different times. The problem under consideration arises in production planning and scheduling concerning the setting of appropriate due dates for a number of customer orders arriving over time. Most of the earlier publications on this subject assumed that the jobs are ready for processing simultaneously. This assumption is too restrictive for real-life production systems where jobs arrive at different times. We show that the problem with unequal ready times is NP-hard and develop fast heuristic algorithms for it, and exact algorithms for two special cases.     

A heuristic algorithm to minimize total weighted tardiness on a single machine with release times

This paper attempts to solve a single machine‐scheduling problem, in which the objective function is to minimize the total weighted tardiness with different release dates of jobs. To address this scheduling problem, a heuristic scheduling algorithm is presented. A mathematical programming formulation is also formulated to validate the performance of the heuristic scheduling algorithm proposed herein. Experimental results show that the proposed heuristic algorithm can solve this problem rapidly and accurately. Overall, this algorithm can find the optimal solutions for 2200 out of 2400 randomly generated problems (91.67%). For the most complicated 20 job cases, it requires less than 0.0016 s to obtain an ultimate or even optimal solution. This heuristic scheduling algorithm can therefore efficiently solve this kind of problem.     

Heuristic scheduling of jobs on parallel batch machines with incompatible job families and unequal ready times

This research is motivated by a scheduling problem found in the diffusion and oxidation areas of semiconductor wafer fabrication, where the machines can be modeled as parallel batch processors. We attempt to minimize total weighted tardiness on parallel batch machines with incompatible job families and unequal ready times of the jobs. Given that the problem is NP-hard, we propose two different decomposition approaches. The first approach forms fixed batches, then assigns these batches to the machines using a genetic algorithm (GA), and finally sequences the batches on individual machines. The second approach first assigns jobs to machines using a GA, then forms batches on each machine for the jobs assigned to it, and finally sequences these batches. Dispatching and scheduling rules are used for the batching phase and the sequencing phase of the two approaches. In addition, as part of the second decomposition approach, we develop variations of a time window heuristic based on a decision theory approach for forming and sequencing the batches on a single machine.     

A variable neighborhood search for minimizing total weighted tardiness with sequence dependent setup times on a single machine

This paper deals with the single machine scheduling problem to minimize the total weighted tardiness in the presence of sequence dependent setup. Firstly, a mathematical model is given to describe the problem formally. Since the problem is NP-hard, a general variable neighborhood search (GVNS) heuristic is proposed to solve it. Initial solution for the GVNS algorithm is obtained by using a constructive heuristic that is widely used in the literature for the problem. The proposed algorithm is tested on 120 benchmark instances. The results show that 37 out of 120 best known solutions in the literature are improved while 64 instances are solved equally. Next, the GVNS algorithm is applied to single machine scheduling problem with sequence dependent setup times to minimize the total tardiness problem without changing any implementation issues and the parameters of the GVNS algorithm. For this problem, 64 test instances are solved varying from small to large sizes. Among these 64 instances, 35 instances are solved to the optimality, 16 instances' best-known results are improved, and 6 instances are solved equally compared to the best-known results. Hence, it can be concluded that the GVNS algorithm is an effective, efficient and a robust algorithm for minimizing tardiness on a single machine in the presence of setup times.     

Minimizing total tardiness and earliness on unrelated parallel machines with controllable processing times

Job scheduling has always been a challenging task in modern manufacturing and the most real life scheduling problems which involves multi-criteria and multi-machine environments. In this research our direction is largely motivated by the adoption of the Just-In-Time (JIT) philosophy in parallel machines system, where processing times of jobs are controllable. The goal of this paper is to minimize total weighted tardiness and earliness besides jobs compressing and expanding costs, depending on the amount of compression/expansion as well as maximum completion time called makespan simultaneously. Jobs due dates are distinct and no inserted idle time is allowed after starting machine processing. Also each machine is capable of processing only some predetermined jobs and operations with probably different speeds. A Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model is proposed to formulate such a problem and is solved optimally in small size instances. A Parallel Net Benefit Compression-Net Benefit Expansion (PNBC–NBE) heuristic is then presented to acquire the optimal jobs set amount of compression and expansion processing times in a given sequence. To solve medium-to-large size cases, a proposed heuristic, two meta-heuristics and a hybrid technique are also employed. Experimental results demonstrate that our hybrid procedure is a proficient method and could efficiently solve such complicated problems.     

Exact and heuristic algorithms for the aerial refueling parallel machine scheduling problem with due date-to-deadline window and ready times

The Aerial Refueling Scheduling Problem (ARSP) can be defined as determining the refueling completion times for fighter aircrafts (jobs) on multiple tankers (machines) to minimize the total weighted tardiness. ARSP can be modeled as a parallel machine scheduling with ready times and due date-to-deadline window to minimize total weighted tardiness. ARSP assumes that the jobs have different ready times and a due date-to-deadline window between refueling due date and a deadline to return without refueling. In this paper, we first formulate the ARSP as a mixed integer programming model. The objective function is a piece-wise tardiness cost that takes into account due date-to-deadline windows and job priorities. Since ARSP is NP-hard, two heuristics are proposed to obtain solutions in reasonable computation times, namely (1) modified ATC rule (MATC), (2) a simulated annealing method (SA). The proposed heuristic algorithms are tested in terms of solution quality and CPU time through computational experiments with data randomly generated to represent aerial refueling operations of an in-theater air operation. Solutions provided by both algorithms were compared to optimal solutions for problems with up to 12 jobs and to each other for larger problems with up to 60 jobs. The results show that, MATC is more likely to outperform SA especially when the problem size increases, although it has significantly worse performance than SA in terms of deviation from optimal solution for small size problems. Moreover CPU time performance of MATC is significantly better than SA in both cases.     

A population-based variable neighborhood search for the single machine total weighted tardiness problem

This paper investigates the single machine total weighted tardiness problem, in which a set of independent jobs with distinct processing times, weights, and due dates are to be scheduled on a single machine to minimize the sum of weighted tardiness of all jobs. This problem is known to be strongly NP-hard, and thus provides a challenging area for metaheuristics. A population-based variable neighborhood search (PVNS) algorithm is developed to solve it. This algorithm differs from the basic variable neighborhood search (VNS). First, the PVNS consists of a number of iterations of the basic VNS, and in each iteration a population of solutions is used to simultaneously generate multiple trial solutions in a neighborhood so as to improve the search diversification. Second, the PVNS adopts a combination of path-relinking, variable depth search and tabu search to act as the local search procedure so as to improve the search intensification. Computational experiments show that the proposed PVNS algorithm can obtain the optimal or best known solutions within a reasonable computation time for all standard benchmark problem instances from the literature.     

The total completion time open shop scheduling problem with a given sequence of jobs on one machine

This paper addresses the open shop scheduling problem to minimize the total completion time, provided that one of the machines has to process the jobs in a given sequence. The problem is NP-hard in the strong sense even for the two-machine case. A lower bound is derived based on the optimal solution of a relaxed problem in which the operations on every machine may overlap except for the machine with a given sequence of jobs. This relaxed problem is NP-hard in the ordinary sense, however it can be quickly solved via a decomposition into subset-sum problems. Both heuristic and branch-and-bound algorithm are proposed. Experimental results show that the heuristic is efficient for solving large-scaled problems, and the branch-and-bound algorithm performs well on small-scaled problems.Scope and purposeShop scheduling problems, widely used in the modeling of industrial production processes, are receiving an increasing amount of attention from researchers. To model practical production processes more closely, additional processing restrictions can be introduced, e.g., the resource constraints, the no-wait in process requirement, the precedence constraints, etc. This paper considers the total completion time open shop scheduling problem with a given sequence of jobs on one machine. This model belongs to a new class of shop scheduling problems under machine-dependent precedence constraints. This problem is NP-hard in the strong sense. A heuristic is proposed to efficiently solve large-scaled problems and a branch-and-bound algorithm is presented to optimally solve small-scaled problems. Computational experience is also reported.     

Unrelated parallel machine scheduling with setup times and a total weighted tardiness objective

This paper presents several search heuristics and their performance in batch scheduling of parallel, unrelated machines. Identical or similar jobs are typically processed in batches in order to decrease setup times and/or processing times. The problem accounts for allotting batched work parts into unrelated parallel machines, where each batch consists of a fixed number of jobs. Some batches may contain different jobs but all jobs within each batch should have an identical processing time and a common due date. Processing time of each job of a batch is determined according to the machine group as well as the batch group to which the job belongs. Major or minor setup times are required between two subsequent batches depending on batch sequence but are independent of machines. The objective of our study is to minimize the total weighted tardiness for the unrelated parallel machine scheduling. Four search heuristics are proposed to address the problem, namely (1) the earliest weighted due date, (2) the shortest weighted processing time, (3) the two-level batch scheduling heuristic, and (4) the simulated annealing method. These proposed local search heuristics are tested through computational experiments with data from dicing operations of a compound semiconductor manufacturing facility.     

A performance comparison of heuristics for the total weighted tardiness problem

The single machine total weighted tardiness problem is an NP-hard problem that requires the use of heuristic solution procedures when more than 50 jobs are to be scheduled. In the literature, a well-tuned simulated annealing method and a descent heuristic with zero interchanges (DESO) both generated the best solutions for a large set of randomly generated problems. Due dates are generated by defining two parameters: the relative range of due dates (RDD) and the average tardiness factor (TF). In this paper, we define several heuristics based on dynamic programming and then use these and DESO heuristics to solve 50-job, 100-job, 200-job, and 500-job problems.     

Two-machine flowshop scheduling with three-operation jobs subject to a fixed job sequence

This paper studies the problem of scheduling three-operation jobs in a two-machine flowshop subject to a predetermined job processing sequence. Each job has two preassigned operations, which are to be performed on their respective dedicated machines, and a flexible operation, which may be processed on either of the two machines subject to the processing order as specified. Five standard objective functions, including the makespan, the maximum lateness, the total weighted completion time, the total weighted tardiness, and the weighted number of tardy jobs are considered. We show that the studied problem for either of the five considered objective functions is ordinary NP-hard, even if the processing times of the preassigned operations are zero for all jobs. A pseudo-polynomial time dynamic programming framework, coupled with brief numerical experiments, is then developed for all the addressed performance metrics with different run times.     

Parallel machine earliness and tardiness scheduling with proportional weights

In this paper we study the problem of scheduling n jobs with a common due date and proportional early and tardy penalties on m identical parallel machines. We show that the problem is NP-hard and propose a dynamic programming algorithm to solve it. We also propose two heuristics to tackle the problem and analyze their worst-case error bounds.Scope and purposeScheduling problems to minimize the total weighted earliness and tardiness (WET) arise in Just-in-time manufacturing systems, where one of the objectives is to complete each job as close to its due date as possible. The earliness and tardiness weights of a job in WET tend to increase with the value of the job. Because processing time is often a good surrogate for the value of a job, it is reasonable to consider weights that are proportional to job processing times. In this paper we study the parallel identical machine WET problem with proportional weights. We propose both exact and approximation algorithms to tackle the problem.     

Scheduling jobs with ready times and precedence constraints on parallel batch machines using metaheuristics

In this paper, we discuss a scheduling problem for parallel batch machines where the jobs have ready times. Problems of this type can be found in semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities (wafer fabs). In addition, we consider precedence constraints among the jobs. Such constraints arise, for example, in scheduling subproblems of the shifting bottleneck heuristic when complex job shop scheduling problems are tackled. We use the total weighted tardiness as the performance measure to be optimized. Hence, the problem is NP-hard and we have to rely on heuristic solution approaches. We consider a variable neighborhood search (VNS) scheme and a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) to compute efficient solutions. We assess the performance of the two metaheuristics based on a large set of randomly generated problem instances and based on instances from the literature. The obtained computational results demonstrate that VNS is a very fast heuristic that quickly leads to high-quality solutions, whereas the GRASP is slightly outperformed by the VNS approach. However, the GRASP approach has the advantage that it can be parallelized in a more natural manner compared to VNS.     

Two-machine flowshop scheduling with flexible operations and controllable processing times

We consider a two-machine flowshop scheduling problem with identical jobs. Each of these jobs has three operations, where the first operation must be performed on the first machine, the second operation must be performed on the second machine, and the third operation (named as flexible operation) can be performed on either machine but cannot be preempted. Highly flexible CNC machines are capable of performing different operations. Furthermore, the processing times on these machines can be changed easily in albeit of higher manufacturing cost by adjusting the machining parameters like the speed and/or feed rate of the machine. The overall problem is to determine the assignment of the flexible operations to the machines and processing times for each operation to minimize the total manufacturing cost and makespan simultaneously. For such a bicriteria problem, there is no unique optimum but a set of nondominated solutions. Using ?-constraint$?\mathrm{-}\mathrm{constraint}$ approach, the problem could be transformed to be minimizing total manufacturing cost for a given upper limit on the makespan. The resulting single criterion problem can be reformulated as a mixed integer nonlinear problem with a set of linear constraints. We use this formulation to optimally solve small instances of the problem while a heuristic procedure is constructed to solve larger instances in a reasonable time.     

Decision support for unrelated parallel machine scheduling with discrete controllable processing times

In a manufacturing or service system, the actual processing time of a job can be controlled by the amount of an indivisible resource allocated, such as workers or auxiliary facilities. In this paper, we consider unrelated parallel-machine scheduling problems with discrete controllable processing times. The processing time of a job is discretely controllable by the allocation of indivisible resources. The planner must make decisions on whether or how to allocate resources to jobs during the scheduling horizon to optimize the performance measures. The objective is to minimize the total cost including the cost measured by a standard criterion and the total processing cost. We first consider three scheduling criterions: the total completion time, the total machine load, and the total earliness and tardiness penalties. If the number of machines and the number of possible processing times are fixed, we develop polynomial time algorithms for the considered problems. We then consider the minimization problem of the makespan cost plus the total processing cost and present an integer programming method and a heuristic method to solve the studied problem.     

Minimizing the total weighted completion time of deteriorating jobs

The paper deals with a single machine problem of scheduling jobs with start time dependent processing times to minimize the total weighted completion time. The computational complexity of this problem was unknown for ten years. We prove that the problem is NP-hard.     

Selection of cutting conditions for power constrained parallel machine scheduling

Most previous studies on machining optimization focused on aspects related to machining efficiency and economics, without accounting for environmental considerations. Higher cutting speed is usually desirable to maximize machining productivity, but this requires a high power load peak. In Taiwan, electricity prices rise sharply if instantaneous power demand exceeds contract capacity. Many studies over the previous decades have examined production scheduling problems. However, most such studies focused on well-defined jobs with known processing times. In addition, traditional sequencing and scheduling models focus primarily on economic objectives and largely disregard environmental issues raised by production scheduling problems. This study investigates a parallel machine scheduling problem for a manufacturing system with a bounded power demand peak. The challenge is to simultaneously determine proper cutting conditions for various jobs and assign them to machines for processing under the condition that power consumption never exceed the electricity load limit. A two-stage heuristic approach is proposed to solve the parallel machine scheduling problem with the goal of minimizing makespan. The heuristic performance is tested by distributing 20 jobs over 3 machines with four possible cutting parameter settings.