Optimal nondelay job shop schedules

SUMMARY

The heuristic job shop scheduling algorithm evaluated in this paper was based on finding optimal nondelay schedules (an approach that had been overlooked by past researchers). The makespan was the criterion studied. A wide range of job shop problems were solved using an active and nondelay algorithm. The results define the quality of optimal nondelay schedules, as well as the size of problems this nondelay algorithm can handle in a reasonable amount of time. In addition (for a certain type of problem), a standard textbook proposition about nondelay sampling was found not to hold true. The research also adds insights into active schedule algorithms. Insights that have been lacking because of the number of problems past researchers have evaluated (typically only three—the same three problems).