Operations Scheduling

Scheduling
• Scheduling specifies when labour, equipment and facilities are
needed to produce a product or provide a service. It depends upon
the type of product or process.
• Process Industry:
- To determine mix of ingredients, when system change from one
type of mixture to another.
• Mass Production:
- Decided at the time of assembly line design, day to day decisions
include rate of inputs to assembly line.
• Batch or Job Shop:
- Complex decisions, determine which equipment to use, routing of
material, order of processing
• Projects:
- Project scheduling by CPM & PERT
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 Objectives of Scheduling

• Meeting customer due dates

• Minimizing delays
• Minimizing response time
• Minimizing completion time
• Minimizing throughput time
• Minimizing overtime
• Minimizing idle time
• Minimizing WIP
• Maximizing machine or labor utilization

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 Job Shop Scheduling
• Job shop scheduling also known as Shop Flow Control (SFC) or
production activity control (PAC) is the scheduling and monitoring day-
to-day production in a job shop. Functions of Job shop scheduling are:
• Loading
- Checking the availability of material, machines and labour and assigning
the load to each machine or individual worker.
- Smoothing out the load is called load levelling
• Sequencing:
- Releasing work orders to the shop and issuing dispatch lists for individual
machines. Once order for various jobs are released by MRP, dispatch list
decides the sequencing of the jobs.
• Dispatch List:
- It contains the sequence in which jobs should be processed based on
sequencing rules
• Monitoring:
- Maintaining progress reports on each job and rescheduling, if required
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 Sequencing Priority Rules
Sequencing is the process of prioritizing jobs on a machine.
1) FCFS (First-come, first served)
2) SOT (Shortest operating time)
3) Due Date (Earliest due date first)
4) Start Date (Due date minus normal lead time)
• Run the job with the earliest start date first
5) STR (Slack Time Remaining) is the difference between
time remaining before due date minus the processing time
remaining
6) STR = (due date – today’s date) – (remaining processing
time)

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 Sequencing Priority Rules

7) Critical Ratio (CR) =

If CR>1, then the job is ahead of schedule

If CR<1, then the job is behind schedule

If CR=1, then the job is exactly on schedule

7) LCFS (Last come, First served)
8) LPT (Longest processing Time)

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 Sequencing Job Through One Process
• Flow Time is the time it takes a job to flow through the system
• Makespan is the time it takes for a group of jobs to be
completed
• Tardiness is the difference between the late job’s due date
and its completion time
• For a set of jobs that are processed on one machine, SPT
sequencing rule will minimize mean job completion time (flow
time), while DDATE sequencing will minimize mean and
maximum tardiness

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 Selecting a Sequencing Rule
• SPT is most useful when the shop is highly congested as it
minimizes WIP, mean flow time and mean number of jobs in
the system
• Use SLACK for periods of normal activity when capacity is not
severely restrained
• Use DDATE when only small tardiness values can be
tolerated. Though more jobs become tardy in case of DDATE
than SPT but degree of tardiness will be much less
• Use LPT if subcontracting is anticipated so that larger jobs are
completed in-house
• Use FCFS when operating at low capacity levels
• Do not use SPT to sequence jobs that have to be assembled
with other jobs at a later date. DDATE is more effective in case
of assembly jobs.
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Sequencing Job Through One Process

Job Processing Time Due Date

(Days)
A 5 10
B 10 15
C 2 5
D 8 12
E 6 8

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 Sequencing Job Through Two Serial
Processes/Machines
• Johnson Rule finds fastest way to process a series of jobs
through a two step system in which every job follows the same
sequence through two processes.
1) List the time required to complete each job at each process
2) Select the smallest processing time at each process. If it is for
Stage 1, put the job at the beginning of sequence
3) If the smallest time pertains to Stage 2, put the job at the end
as far as possible
4) Remove the job from the list
5) Repeat steps 2-4 until all slots in the matrix have been filled

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 Example Johnson Rule
An order comprises 5 jobs that are to be processed on two machines. All
jobs will first undergo Process-1 and thereafter on Process-2. The
processing time required on each process is given below. Determine the
order in which jobs should be processed so that the order could be
completed as soon as possible. Also find the average flow time for the jobs.

Job Process 1 Process 2

A 6 8
B 11 6
C 7 3
D 9 7
E 5 10

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Example