Scheduling parallel processors: An integer linear programming based heuristic for minimizing setup time

The problem of scheduling parallel processors in a make-to-stock environment with sequence setup costs is considered. A new algorithm which formulates a series of 0-1 integer sub problems is proposed and contrasted with an earlier formulation (Dearing and Henderson 1982,1984). Parallels between the sub problem formulations and generalized networks are discussed. The efficiency and quality of the solutions provided were tested using previously published data for a loom assignment problem. The heuristic solution was evaluated against the optimal integer linear programming (ILP) solution, and a rounded linear program (LP) approximation to the optimal solution for several sample problems. Results indicate that the heuristic is efficient, provides near optimal solutions to production planning problems and requires significantly less computing capability than previously reported LP, TLP approaches.