Short-Term Scheduling

Strategic Implications of Short-Term Scheduling

By scheduling effectively, companies use assets more effectively and create greater capacity per dollar invested, which, in turn, lowers cost This added capacity and related flexibility provides faster delivery and therefore better customer service Good scheduling is a competitive advantage which contributes to dependable delivery

Short-Term Scheduling Examples

Hospital

Outpatient treatments Operating rooms Instructors Classrooms

University Factory

Production Purchases

1984-1994 T/Maker Co.

Forward and Backward Scheduling

Forward scheduling: begins the schedule as soon as the requirements are known
jobs performed to customer order schedule can be accomplished even if due date is missed often causes buildup of WIP (inventory)

Backward scheduling: begins with the due date of the final operation; schedules jobs in reverse order

used in many manufacturing environments, catering, scheduling surgery

Short-Term Scheduling
Deals with timing of operations Short run focus: Hourly, daily, weekly Types
Forward Scheduling Backward Scheduling

B
Today

E
Due Date Today

E
Due Date

The Goals of Short-Term Scheduling

Minimize completion time Maximize utilization (make effective use of personnel and equipment) Minimize WIP inventory (keep inventory levels low) Minimize customer wait time

Choosing a Scheduling Method

Qualitative factors
Variety of jobs Complexity of jobs

Quantitative criteria
Average completion time Utilization (% of time facility is used) WIP inventory (average # jobs in system) Customer waiting time (average lateness)

Loading Jobs in Work Centers

Assigning jobs to work centers Considerations

Job priority (e.g., due date) Capacity

Work center hours available Hours needed for job

Approaches

Gantt charts (load & scheduling) - capacity Assignment method - job to specific work center

Gantt Load Chart for Week of March 6

Shows relative workload in facility Disadvantages
Day Work Center Metalworks Mechanical Electronics Painting Job 408 Job 295 Job 408 Monday Job 349 Job 349 Tuesday Wednesday

Does not account for unexpected events Must be updated regularly

Thursday Job 350 Job 406 Job 349 Job 349 Friday

Processing

Unscheduled

Center not available (for example, maintenance time, repairs, shortages)

Assignment Method
Assigns tasks or jobs to resources Type of linear programming model

Objective

Minimize total cost, time etc.

1 job per resource (e.g., machine) 1 resource (e.g., machine) per job

Constraints

Sequencing
Specifies order jobs will be worked Sequencing rules
First come, first served (FCFS) Shortest processing time (SPT) Earliest due date (EDD) Longest processing time (LPT) Critical ratio (CR) Johnsons rule

Priority Rules for Dispatching Jobs

FCFS EDD

First come, first served

The first job to arrive at a work center is processed first

Earliest due date

The job with the earliest due date is processed first

Shortest processing time

SPT

The job with the shortest processing time is processed first

LPT

Longest processing time

The job with the longest processing time is processed first

Criteria to Evaluate Priority Rules

Average completion time Flow times # Jobs

Process times Utilizatio n Flow times

Average number of jobs in the system Flow times Process times

Late times Average job lateness Number of jobs

Job Sequencing Example

Job Job Work Processing time in days 6 2 8 3 9 Job Due Date (day) 8 6 18 15 23

A B C D E

FCFS
Parameter Average completion time Utilization Average number of jobs in the system Average job lateness Value 15.4 days 36.4% 2.75 jobs Sequence A B

C
D

E
2.2 days

SPT
Parameter Average completion time Utilization Average number of jobs in the system Average job lateness Value 13 days 43.1% 2.32 jobs Sequence B D

A
C

E
1.8 days

EDD
Parameter Average completion time Utilization Average number of jobs in the system Average job lateness Value 13.6 days 41.2% 2.43 jobs Sequence B A

D
C

E
1.2 days

LPT
Parameter Average completion time Utilization Average number of jobs in the system Average job lateness Value 20.6 days 27.2% 3.68 jobs Sequence E C

A
D

B
9.6 days

Summary
Rule Average Completion Time (days) 15.4 13.0 13.6 20.6 Utilization Average Number (%) of Jobs in the System 36.4 43.1 41.2 27.2 2.75 2.32 2.43 3.68 Average Lateness (Days) 2.2 1.8 1.2 9.6

FCFS SPT EDD LPT

Johnsons Rule
Used to sequence N jobs through 2 machines in the same order
Jobs (N = 3) Saw Drill

Job A Job B Job C

1995 Corel Corp. 1995 Corel Corp.

Johnson's Rule - Scheduling N Jobs on Two Machines

All jobs are to be listed, and the time each requires on a machine shown. Select the job with the shortest activity time. If the shortest time lies with the first machine, the job is scheduled first; if with the second machine, the job is scheduled last. Once a job is scheduled, eliminate it. Apply steps 2-3 to the remaining jobs, working toward the center of the sequence.

Johnsons Rule Steps

List jobs & activity times Select job with shortest time Ties? Yes Break arbitrarily Jobs left? No

Machine?

Schedule LAST

1
Schedule FIRST Eliminate job from list No

Stop

Yes

Johnsons Rule - Example

Job
A B

Work Center 1 (Drill Press)

5 3

Work Center 2 (Lathe)

2 6

C
D E

8
10 7

4
7 12

Johnsons Rule - Example

Step 1 A

Step 2
Step 3

B
B C

A
A

Step 4
Step 5

B
B E

D
D

C
C

A
A

Graphical Depiction of Job Flow

Time => 0
Work center 1 Work center 2 3 10 20 28 33

E
B
3 9 10

D
E
20 22

C
D
28 29

A
C
33

A
35

Time => 0

E
= Job completed

C A

= Idle