We consider the problem of scheduling n jobs with release dates on m identical parallel batch processing machines so as to minimize the maximum lateness. Each batch processing machine can process up to B (B < n) jobs simultaneously as a batch, and the processing time of a batch is the largest processing time among the jobs in the batch. Jobs processed in the same batch start and complete at the...

Scheduling is a decision making process to determine when, where, how to produce a set of products given requirements in a specific time horizon, a set of limited resources, and processing recipes. The research area of batch and continuous process scheduling has received great attention from both the academia and the industry in the past two decades. This is motivated by the increasing pressure...

Batch processes are flexible allowing the production of different products within the same facility, and suitable for producing low volume, high value-added products such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The trend towards batch processing has necessitated the development of scheduling techniques. In addition to process scheduling, heat integration has been increasingly considered for batch...

This paper focuses on production scheduling in a semiconductor wafer fab producing multiple product types that have different due dates and different process flows. In the wafer fab, wafer lots are processed on serial and batch processing workstations, each of which consists of parallel identical machines. Machines in serial processing workstations process wafer lots one by one, while those in ...

Online scheduling is a rapidly developed branch in scheduling theory. In this paper, we present an extensive survey for online over time scheduling on parallel-batch machines. Some open problems are proposed for further research.

In the parallel batch schedulingmodel, a group of jobs can be scheduled together as a batch while the processing time of this batch is the greatest processing time among its members; in the model of scheduling with rejection, any job can be rejected with a corresponding penalty cost added to the objective value. In this paper, we present a PTAS for the combined model of the above two scheduling...

The discrete lotsizing and scheduling problem for one machine with sequence dependent setup times and setup costs is solved as a single machine scheduling problem, which we term the batch sequencing problem. The relationship between the lotsizing problem and the batch sequencing problem is analyzed. The batch sequencing problem is solved with a branch & bound algorithm which is accelerated by b...

Many models of process industry batch production systems are of a continuoustime/discrete-event (CT/DE) nature: physical processes are modelled using CT specifications, operating procedures are modelled using DE specifications. For scheduling of batch production systems, special purpose tools are available. The Chi language is a CT/DE language with high level DE language elements. This makes it...

The recent survey paper “A Survey on Scheduling Problems with Setup Times and Costs” 1 , classifies batch scheduling problems into those with batching and nonbatching considerations, with sequence-independent and sequence-dependent setup times, and according to the machine environment and the objective function. The survey contains approximately 300 references, a clear indication of the importa...

This work addresses the heat treatment operation in a manufacturing plant. The heat treatment operation is characterized by process times ranging from 7 hours to 112 hours. The immediate prior operation to heat treatment is turning. Currently, the batches loaded in heat treatment, often do not use furnace capacity adequately. This paper describes the use of heuristics and simulation to model ba...