16,535 research outputs found
Parameterized complexity of machine scheduling: 15 open problems
Machine scheduling problems are a long-time key domain of algorithms and
complexity research. A novel approach to machine scheduling problems are
fixed-parameter algorithms. To stimulate this thriving research direction, we
propose 15 open questions in this area whose resolution we expect to lead to
the discovery of new approaches and techniques both in scheduling and
parameterized complexity theory.Comment: Version accepted to Computers & Operations Researc
High Multiplicity Scheduling with Switching Costs for few Products
We study a variant of the single machine capacitated lot-sizing problem with
sequence-dependent setup costs and product-dependent inventory costs. We are
given a single machine and a set of products associated with a constant demand
rate, maximum loading rate and holding costs per time unit. Switching
production from one product to another incurs sequencing costs based on the two
products. In this work, we show that by considering the high multiplicity
setting and switching costs, even trivial cases of the corresponding "normal"
counterparts become non-trivial in terms of size and complexity. We present
solutions for one and two products.Comment: 10 pages (4 appendix), to be published in Operations Research
Proceedings 201
Throughput Rate Optimization in High Multiplicity Sequencing Problems
Mixed model assembly systems assemble products (parts) of differenttypes in certain prespecified quantities. A minimal part set is a smallestpossible set of product type quantities, to be called the multiplicities,in which the numbers of assembled products of the various types are inthe desired ratios. It is common practice to repeatedly assemble minimalpart sets, and in such a way that the products of each of the minimalpart sets are assembled in the same sequence. Little is known howeverregarding the resulting throughput rate, in particular in comparison to thethroughput rates attainable by other input strategies. This paper investigatesthroughput and balancing issues in repetitive manufacturing environments.It considers sequencing problems that occur in this setting andhow the repetition strategy influences throughput. We model the problemsas a generalization of the traveling salesman problem and derive ourresults in this general setting. Our analysis uses well known concepts fromscheduling theory and combinatorial optimization.Economics ;
Polynomiality for Bin Packing with a Constant Number of Item Types
We consider the bin packing problem with d different item sizes s_i and item
multiplicities a_i, where all numbers are given in binary encoding. This
problem formulation is also known as the 1-dimensional cutting stock problem.
In this work, we provide an algorithm which, for constant d, solves bin
packing in polynomial time. This was an open problem for all d >= 3.
In fact, for constant d our algorithm solves the following problem in
polynomial time: given two d-dimensional polytopes P and Q, find the smallest
number of integer points in P whose sum lies in Q.
Our approach also applies to high multiplicity scheduling problems in which
the number of copies of each job type is given in binary encoding and each type
comes with certain parameters such as release dates, processing times and
deadlines. We show that a variety of high multiplicity scheduling problems can
be solved in polynomial time if the number of job types is constant
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