A best possible algorithm for an online scheduling problem with position-based learning effect

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>In this paper, we focus on an online scheduling problem with position-based learning effect on a single machine, where the jobs are released online over time and preemption is not allowed. The information about each job <inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}$ J_j $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula>, including the basic processing time <inline-formula><tex-math id="M2">\begin{document}$ p_j $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> and the release time <inline-formula><tex-math id="M3">\begin{document}$ r_j $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula>, is only available when it arrives. The actual processing time <inline-formula><tex-math id="M4">\begin{document}$ p_j' $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> of each job <inline-formula><tex-math id="M5">\begin{document}$ J_j $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> is defined as a function related to its position <inline-formula><tex-math id="M6">\begin{document}$ r $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula>, i.e., <inline-formula><tex-math id="M7">\begin{document}$ p_j' = p_j(\alpha-r\beta) $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula><tex-math id="M8">\begin{document}$ \alpha $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math id="M9">\begin{document}$ \beta $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> are both nonnegative learning index. Our goal is to minimize the sum of completion time of all jobs. For this problem, we design a deterministic polynomial time online algorithm <i>Delayed Shortest Basic Processing Time</i> (DSBPT). In order to facilitate the understanding of the online algorithm, we present a relatively common and simple example to describe the execution process of the algorithm, and then by competitive analysis, we show that online algorithm DSBPT is a best possible online algorithm with a competitive ratio of 2.</p>

Online Batch Scheduling of Simple Linear Deteriorating Jobs with Incompatible Families

We considered the online scheduling problem of simple linear deteriorating job families on m parallel batch machines to minimize the makespan, where the batch capacity is unbounded. In this paper, simple linear deteriorating jobs mean that the actual processing time p j of job J j is assumed to be a linear function of its starting time s j , i.e., p j = α j s j , where α j > 0 is the deterioration rate. Job families mean that one job must belong to some job family, and jobs of different families cannot be processed in the same batch. When m = 1 , we provide the best possible online algorithm with the competitive ratio of ( 1 + α max ) f , where f is the number of job families and α max is the maximum deterioration rate of all jobs. When m ≥ 1 and m = f , we provide the best possible online algorithm with the competitive ratio of 1 + α max .

Genetic Algorithm for a Two-Agent Scheduling Problem with Truncated Learning Consideration

Scheduling with learning effects has received lots of research attention lately. However, the multiple-agent setting with learning consideration is relatively limited. On the other hand, the actual processing time of a job under an uncontrolled learning effect will drop to zero precipitously as the number of the jobs already processed increases. This is rather absurd in reality. Based on these observations, this paper considers a single-machine two-agent scheduling problem in which the actual processing time of a job depends not only on the job's scheduled position, but also on a control parameter. The objective is to minimize the total weighted completion time of jobs from the first agent with the restriction that no tardy job is allowed for the second agent. A branch-and-bound algorithm incorporated with several dominance properties and lower bounds is proposed to derive the optimal solution for the problem. In addition, genetic algorithms (GAs) are also provided to obtain the near-optimal solution. Finally, a computational experiment is conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms.

Scheduling Two-Agents with a Time-Dependent Deterioration to Minimize the Minsum Earliness Measures

This paper considers a new scheduling model in which both two-agents and a time-dependent deterioration exist simultaneously. By the time-dependent deterioration, it means that the actual processing time of a job belonging to the two-agents is defined as a non-decreasing linear function of its starting time. Two-agents compete to perform their respective jobs on a common single-machine and each agent has his own criterion to be optimized. The aim is to focus on minimizing total (weighted) earliness cost of one agent, subject to an upper bound on the maximum earliness cost of the other agent. The main contribution of this paper is to propose the optimal properties and present the complexity results for the problems addressed here.

Heuristic for Stochastic Online Flowshop Problem with Preemption Penalties

The deterministic flowshop model is one of the most widely studied problems; whereas its stochastic equivalent has remained a challenge. Furthermore, the preemptive online stochastic flowshop problem has received much less attention, and most of the previous researches have considered a nonpreemptive version. Moreover, little attention has been devoted to the problems where a certain time penalty is incurred when preemption is allowed. This paper examines the preemptive stochastic online flowshop with the objective of minimizing the expected makespan. All the jobs arrive overtime, which means that the existence and the parameters of each job are unknown until its release date. The processing time of the jobs is stochastic and actual processing time is unknown until completion of the job. A heuristic procedure for this problem is presented, which is applicable whenever the job processing times are characterized by their means and standard deviation. The performance of the proposed heuristic method is explored using some numerical examples.

Two-Agent Single-Machine Scheduling of Jobs with Time-Dependent Processing Times and Ready Times

Scheduling involving jobs with time-dependent processing times has recently attracted much research attention. However, multiagent scheduling with simultaneous considerations of jobs with time-dependent processing times and ready times is relatively unexplored. Inspired by this observation, we study a two-agent single-machine scheduling problem in which the jobs have both time-dependent processing times and ready times. We consider the model in which the actual processing time of a job of the first agent is a decreasing function of its scheduled position while the actual processing time of a job of the second agent is an increasing function of its scheduled position. In addition, each job has a different ready time. The objective is to minimize the total completion time of the jobs of the first agent with the restriction that no tardy job is allowed for the second agent. We propose a branch-and-bound and several genetic algorithms to obtain optimal and near-optimal solutions for the problem, respectively. We also conduct extensive computational results to test the proposed algorithms and examine the impacts of different problem parameters on their performance.

Single-Machine Scheduling with Upper Bounded Maintenance Time under the Deteriorating Effect

We consider a single-machine scheduling problem with upper bounded actual processing time and upper bounded maintenance time under deteriorating effect. The actual processing time of a job is a position-dependent power function. If the actual processing time of a job exceeds the upper bound, tardiness penalty of the job should be paid. And if the maintenance time exceeds the corresponding upper bound, tardiness penalty of the maintenance should also be paid. The maintenance duration studied in the paper is a position-dependent exponential function. The objective is to find jointly the optimal maintenance frequency and the optimal job sequence to minimize the total cost, which is a linear function of the makespan and the total tardiness. We show that the studied scheduling problem can be transformed as a classic assignment problem to solve. There is also shown that a special case of the scheduling problem can be optimally solved by a lower order algorithm.