Split Scheduling with Uniform Setup Times

F. Schalekamp, R.A. Sitters, S.L. van der Ster, L. Stougie, V. Verdugo, A. van Zuylen

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

We study a scheduling problem in which jobs may be split into parts, where the parts of a split job may be processed simultaneously on more than one machine. Each part of a job requires a setup time, however, on the machine where the job part is processed. During setup, a machine cannot process or set up any other job. We concentrate on the basic case in which setup times are job-, machine- and sequence-independent. Problems of this kind were encountered when modelling practical problems in planning disaster relief operations. Our main algorithmic result is a polynomial-time algorithm for minimising total completion time on two parallel identical machines. We argue, why the same problem with three machines is not an easy extension of the two-machine case, leaving the complexity of this case as a tantalising open problem. We give a constant-factor approximation algorithm for the general case with any number of machines and a polynomial-time approximation scheme for a fixed number of machines. For the version with the objective to minimise total weighted completion time, we prove NP-hardness. Finally, we conclude with an overview of the state of the art for other split scheduling problems with job-, machine- and sequence-independent setup times.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)119-129
JournalJournal of Scheduling
Volume18
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Bibliographical note

April 2015, Volume 18, Issue 2, pp 119-129

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