Minimizing Flowtime for Paired Tasks

European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 259, Issue 3, 16 June 2017, Pages 818-828

University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business Research Paper

Posted: 4 Nov 2017

See all articles by Brenda Courtad

Brenda Courtad

Independent

Mike Magazine

University of Cincinnati - Department of Business Analytics

Date Written: June 1, 2017

Abstract

Certain service and production systems require that a single processor complete, for each job, a pair of ordered tasks separated in time by a minimal required delay. In particular, circumstances, this mode of operation can characterize a physician in a hospital Emergency Department, a painting crew at a construction site, or a work station in a job shop. Motivated by these scenarios, we formulate an applicable scheduling problem and investigate its solution. To determine an optimal schedule, we formulate an appropriate mixed integer model in which the key lever for process improvement is the batching of tasks. We further show that two special cases of this problem can be optimally solved efficiently. To expedite decision-making, we propose heuristic approaches supported by spreadsheet based software. Numerical results are then presented and insights discussed.

Keywords: Heuristics, Scheduling/batching, Integer programming

Suggested Citation

Courtad, Brenda and Magazine, Mike, Minimizing Flowtime for Paired Tasks (June 1, 2017). European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 259, Issue 3, 16 June 2017, Pages 818-828, University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3064210

Mike Magazine

University of Cincinnati - Department of Business Analytics ( email )

606 Carl H. Lindner Hall 2925 Campus Green Drive
PO Box 210211
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0211
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
305
PlumX Metrics