3,835 research outputs found
How the structure of precedence constraints may change the complexity class of scheduling problems
This survey aims at demonstrating that the structure of precedence
constraints plays a tremendous role on the complexity of scheduling problems.
Indeed many problems can be NP-hard when considering general precedence
constraints, while they become polynomially solvable for particular precedence
constraints. We also show that there still are many very exciting challenges in
this research area
Split Scheduling with Uniform Setup Times
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 objective minimising weighted
total 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
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
The Lazy Bureaucrat Scheduling Problem
We introduce a new class of scheduling problems in which the optimization is
performed by the worker (single ``machine'') who performs the tasks. A typical
worker's objective is to minimize the amount of work he does (he is ``lazy''),
or more generally, to schedule as inefficiently (in some sense) as possible.
The worker is subject to the constraint that he must be busy when there is work
that he can do; we make this notion precise both in the preemptive and
nonpreemptive settings. The resulting class of ``perverse'' scheduling
problems, which we denote ``Lazy Bureaucrat Problems,'' gives rise to a rich
set of new questions that explore the distinction between maximization and
minimization in computing optimal schedules.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures, Latex. To appear, Information and Computatio
Non-Preemptive Scheduling on Machines with Setup Times
Consider the problem in which n jobs that are classified into k types are to
be scheduled on m identical machines without preemption. A machine requires a
proper setup taking s time units before processing jobs of a given type. The
objective is to minimize the makespan of the resulting schedule. We design and
analyze an approximation algorithm that runs in time polynomial in n, m and k
and computes a solution with an approximation factor that can be made
arbitrarily close to 3/2.Comment: A conference version of this paper has been accepted for publication
in the proceedings of the 14th Algorithms and Data Structures Symposium
(WADS
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