Article ID: | iaor20123695 |
Volume: | 63 |
Issue: | 5 |
Start Page Number: | 646 |
End Page Number: | 652 |
Publication Date: | May 2012 |
Journal: | Journal of the Operational Research Society |
Authors: | Mosheiov G, Mor B, Oron D |
Keywords: | combinatorial optimization, allocation: resources |
We study the optimality of the very practical policy of equal allocation of jobs to batches in batch scheduling problems on an m‐machine open shop. The objective is minimum makespan. We assume unit processing time jobs, machine‐dependent setup times and batch availability. We show that equal allocation is optimal for a two‐machine and a three‐machine open shop. Although, this policy is not necessarily optimal for larger size open shops, it is shown numerically to produce very close‐to‐optimal schedules.