Using Heuristic Search for Solving Single Machine Batch Processing Problems

Abstract

This paper deals with scheduling for single machine batch processing, specifically the transporting problem with one vehicle. Capacity restrictions of the machine are considered and the main objective is to find an assignment of jobs to achieve the minimal processing time of all batches, given these capacities. A polynomial algorithm is proposed for solving the case in which the jobs are non-preemptive, non-identical, and are known before the realization of the schedule. The proposed algorithm is implemented and shown to yield better results than alternatives from the literature.